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AMERICA. 


BY 


E.    L.    MAGC-ON, 


AUTHOR  OF  "  PROVERBS   TOR  THE  PEOPLE,"    "  ORATORS  OF 
AMERICAN   REVOLUTION,"  SfC. 


NEW    YORK: 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER, 

145    IIAIIAU    1TBEET    AND   36    PARK    ROW. 

1851. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849,  by 

BAKER    &    SCRIBNER, 

i  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Sc 
District  of  New  York. 


C.  W.  BENEDICT,  Stereotyper, 

201    William  ttreet,  cor.  of  Frankfort. 


/85Y 


TO 

THE    YOUNG    MEN    OP    AMEBICA, 

HEIRS  OF  THE 
RICHEST    DEPARTED    WORTH, 

AND 
EMULATORS    OF    THE    GRANDEST    LIVING    MERIT, 

THIS  WORK 
IS    FRATERNALLY    INSCRIBED. 


550449 


LIST    OF    PLATES. 


FACING 

I.  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  .          .          ....       TITLE 

II.  HENRY  CLAY,     .     .    'Pj/    ......     117 


III.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  .     .     /^      .  C.  f  .     .     .  182 

IV.  LEWIS  CASS,  ...........  271 

Y.  THOMAS  H.  BENTON,    .     .     .'''.'    £.'  .'  .     .  302 

VI.  THOMAS  CORWIN,  408 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
DANIEL    WEBSTER, 

THE  LOGICIAN. 
II. 

EDWARD    EVERETT, 

THE  RHETORICIAN. 
III. 

HENRY    CLAY,    * 

THE   POLITICIAN. 

IV. 
JOHN    C.    CALHOUN, 

THE  METAPHYSICIAN. 

V. 
GEORGE    McDUFFIE, 

THE  IMPETUOUS. 

VI. 

LEWIS    CASS, 

THE   COURTEOUS. 


CONTENTS. 
VII. 

THOMAS    H.    BENTON, 

THE  MAGISTERIAL. 

VIII. 
WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON, 

THE  INSPIRED  DEOLAIMER. 

IX. 
THOMAS    CORWIN, 

THE  NATURAL    ORATOR. 


PREFACE. 


ON  last  September  was  published  the  "ORATORS  OP 
THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION."  Very  kindly  has  that 
book  been  received  in  this  country  and  in  England.  In 
accordance  with  the  intimation  given  in  the  preface 
to  that  work,  the  present  publication  is  made  to  the 
world  with  the  hope  that,  like  its  predecessor,  it  may  be 
deemed  not  altogether  unworthy  of  discriminating  scru- 
tiny and  generous  regard. 

Of  the  former  volume,  some  have  said  that  it  would 
be  improved  if  more  copious  extracts  from  the  respective 
orators  accompanied  the  author's  analytical  remarks. 
At  the  same  time  these  critics  have  signified  their  doubts 
as  to  the  possibility  of  procuring  many  authentic  and 
characteristic  specimens  from  some  of  the  earliest  and 
most  efficient  patriots  of  our  land.  Those  doubts  would 
deepen  into  despair,  should  the  enthusiastic  gentlemen 
referred  to  attempt  to  find  what  all  would  indeed  be  glad 


to  read.  But,  unfortunately,  we  have  only  here  and 
there  a  torso  to  remind  us  of  the  consummate  excellence 
long  since  mutilated  by  revolutions  and  wasted  by  time. 

In  the  present  instance,  however,  there  is  no  such  lack 
of  well-authenticated  materials.  The  chief  difficulty 
lies  in  making  a  judicious  selection  therefrom,  samples 
the  most  characteristic  of  each  master,  and  calculated 
to  exemplify  in  the  most  striking  manner  the  peculiar 
qualities  of  each  one's  eloquence.  The  author  may 
have  failed  in  this  respect,  as  in  other  important  partic- 
ulars ;  but,  as  he  wished  to  succeed  by  doing  justice  to 
the  subject  every  way,  he  has  spared  no  pains. 

The  reader  will  understand  that  the  production  before 
him  is  not  designed  to  be  a  book  of  examples  merely,  or 
of  precepts  alone,  but  rather  of  both  combined.  Taken 
with  the  volume  referred  to  above,  it  is  believed  that  we 
have  arranged  a  complete  circle  of  oratorical  models, 
each  one  in  his  own  individuality  standing  for  a  class, 
nearly  approximating  perfection  of  its  kind,  and  in  the 
aggregate  presenting  an  array  of  exalted  worthies  whom 
the  best  talents  would  do  well  to  emulate,  and  whom  the 
loftiest  genius  can  only  by  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
hope  to  excel. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  add  that  it  has  been  the 
purpose  of  the  author  to  maintain  the  strictest  impar- 


PREFACE.  IX 

tiality  in  portraying  the  distinguished  personages  in  this 
work,  in  all  of  whom  he  recognizes  much  to  admire. 
If  in  any  instance  he  has  been  indiscreet  or  unjust  in 
what  he  has  presumed  to  write,  he  begs  pardon  of  those 
who  may  conceive  themselves  wronged.  He  believes, 
however,  that  a  delicate  regard  to  private  feelings  and 
personal  worth  will  be  found  pervading  every  succeed- 
ing page. 

In  dedicating  this  work  to  the  Young  Men  of  America, 
the  author  would  remind  them  of  Cicero's  beautiful 
exhortation  to  Brutus,  after  the  death  of  Hortensius : 
"  As  you  now  seem  to  have  been  left  the  sole  guardian 
of  an  orphan  eloquence,  let  me  conjure  you  to  cherish 
her  with  a  generous  fidelity :  discourage  the  addresses 
of  her  worthless  and  impertinent  suitors :  preserve  her 
pure  and  unblemished  in  all  her  virgin  charms;  and 
secure  her,  to  the  utmost  of  your  ability,  from  the  law- 
less violence  of  every  ruffian." 

E.  L.  M. 

Cincinnati,  Feb.  22,  1849. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DANIEL    WEBSTER, 

THE  LOGICIAN. " 

ALL  honor  to  "  The  Old  Granite  State  !"  The  con- 
tracted and  tempestuous  territory  of  New  Hampshire 
has  given  birth  to  as  much  refined  genius  and  effective 
talent,  perhaps,  as  any  State  on  our  continent.  Nearly 
all  the  heroism,  moral  excellence,  and  ennobling  litera- 
ture of  the  world,  has  been  produced  .  by  those  who,  in 
infancy  and  youth  were  fostered  by  the  inspiration  of 
exalted  regions,  where  the  turf  is  covered  with  a  rude 
beauty,  rocks  and  wilderness  are  piled  in  bold  and  inimi- 
table shapes  of  savage  grandeur,  tinged  with  the  hues 
of  untold  centuries,  and  over  which  awe-inspiring  storms 
often  sweep  with  thunders  in  their  train.  This  is  the  influ- 
ence which  more  than  half  created  the  Shakspeares, 
Miltons,  Spencers,  Wordsworths,  Scotts,  Coleridges, 
Shelleys,  Irvings,  Coopers,  Bryants,  and  Websters  of  the 
world ;  and  without  much  personal  acquaintance  with 
such  scenes  it  is  impossible  for  a  reader  to  comprehend 
their  highest  individuality  of  character  so  as  fully  to 
relish  the  best  qualities  of  their  works. 

In  the  present  discussion,  we  propose  to  consider  the 
1 


2  LIVING     ORATCRS    IN    AMERICA. 

leading  circumstances  of  Daniel  Webster's  youth  ;  trace 
the  progress  -of  his  preparatory  discipline ;  sketch  his 
professional  career;  and  portray  the  chief  features  of 
his  eloquence. 

In  the  first  place,  we  remark  that  there  is  in  the  ele- 
ments of  our  humanity  a  perpetual  sympathy  with  the 
accompaniments  of  its  first  development;  the  mind  and 
deeds  of  strongly-marked  individuals  ever  assimilate 
with  the  nature  of  their  parent  soil,  and  the  impressions 
thereon  first  received.  This  rule  is  strikingly  exempli- 
fied in  the  life  and  character  of  Mr.  Webster.  He  was 
born  in  Salisbury,  near  the  "White  Hills"  of  New 
Hampshire,  at  the  source  of  the  river  Merrimack,  in 
1782.  His  father,  who  was  a  farmer,  served  both  in  the 
old  French  war,  and  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  A 
company  composed  mostly  of  his  neighbors  and  friends 
was  under  his  command  in  the  battle  of  Bennington, 
at  White  Plains,  and  at  West  Point,  when  Arnold's 
treason  was  discovered.  He  died  about  the  year  1806, 
having  worthily  filled  several  public  offices,  and,  among 
others,  that  of  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  for 
the  State. 

Salisbury,  to  this  day,  is  a  retired,  though  nourishing 
town,  but  at  the  time  its  distinguished  son  appeared,  the 
smoke  of  its  few  cabins  went  up  amidst  the  rugged  and 
lonely  wilderness  of  the  North.  To  describe  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  mountainous  region  of  his  advent,  it  is 
fitting  that  we  should  employ  the  language  of  Milton  in 
his  "  Moscova."  Says  he :  "  The  north  parts  of  this 
country  are  st>  barren,  that  the  inhabitants  fetch  their 
<*orn  a  thousand  miles,  and  so  cold  in  winter,  that  the 


DANIEL     WEBSTER. 


very  sap  of  their  wood-fuel  burning  on  the  fire  freezes  at 
the  brand's  end  where  it  drops.  The  mariners  which 
were  left  on  ship-board  in  the  first  English  voyage 
thither,  in  going  up  only  from  the  cabins  to  the  hatches, 
had  their  breath  so  congealed  by  the  cold,  that  they  fell 
down  as  it  were  stifled." 

The  best  commentary  to  the  genius  of  a  people  is  a 
visit  to  the  scenery  encompassed  l?y  which  they  are 
born  and  trained.  For  instance,  the  mighty  gloom  of 
the  Hartz  Mountains,  in  Germany ;  the  robber  castles 
towering  over  the  Rhine ;  the  impressive  remains  of 
antique  power  scattered  profusely  over  plain,  hill,  and 
forest ;  the  thousand  commingled  associations  rife  in 
every  scene ;  the  imperial  Roman,  the  furious  Goth,  the 
graceful  cavaliers  of  feudal  limes,  and  the  thrilling  con- 
ceptions of  an  ideal  world  long  anterior  to  them  all,  have 
alike  their  record  and  impulse  to  the  student  pilgrim, 
wandering,  or  at  rest,  and  stamp  their  indelible  features 
on  all  the  youth  of  the  land. 

The  tendency  of  wild,  broken  districts,  darkened  by 
mountains  and  savage  forests,  to  raise  in  the  mind  those 
ideas  of  solemn,  preternatural  awe,  which  are  the  stamina 
of  the  most  vigorous  eloquence,  and  the  adornment  of  the 
best  poetry,  has  been  noticed  from  the  earliest  ages. 
"  Where  is  a  lofty,  and  deeply-shaded  grove,"  writes 
Seneca  in  one  of  his  epistles,  "  filled  with  venerable  trees, 
whose  interlacing  boughs  shut  out  the  face  of  heaven,  the 
grandeur  of  the  wood,  the  silence  of  the  place,  the  shade 
so  dense  and  uniform,  infuse  into  the  breast  the  notion 
of  a  divinity  ;"  and  thus  the  ancients,  struck  with  the 
living  magnificence  of  nature,  which  they  could  not 


4  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

understand,  peopled  each  grove,  fountain,  or  grotto,  with 
some  local  genius,  or  god.  We  shall  refer  more  fully  to 
this  point,  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  preparatory 
discipline  which  fitted  Mr.  Webster  for  effective  public 
life.  At  present  we  only  glance  at  the  circumstances 
attending  his  birth  which  were  calculated  nobly  to  im- 
bue his  character  and  develop  its  worth.  He  arose 
where  the  two  great  elements  of  the  universe,  beauty 
and  sublimity,  are  most  palpably  revealed  in  the  Swit- 
zerland of  America.  It  was  fitting  tha-t  our  greatest 
statesman  should  there  meet  his  first  struggles,  and  learn 
his  first  lore  in  the  home  of  virtuous  industry,  surrounded 
by  scenery  so  grand.  God  made  the  human  soul  illus- 
trious, and  designed  it  for  exalted  pursuits  and  a  glorious 
destiny.  To  expand  our  finite  faculties,  and  afford  them 
a  culture  both  profound  and  elevating,  Nature  is  spread 
around  us,  with  all  its  stupendous  proportions,  and 
Divine  Revelation  speaks  to  us  of  an  eternal  augmenta- 
tion of  knowledge  hereafter,  for  weal  or  woe.  Above, 
beneath,  and  around  us,  open  the  avenues  of  infinite  pro- 
gression, through  which  we  must  forever  advance  without 
pause,  and  expand  in  capacity  without  limit.  Here,  on 
this  dim  arena  of  earth,  an  immortal  essence  throbs  at  our 
heart  in  harmony  with  the  infinite  and  eternal.  The 
day-star  of  thought  arises  on  the  soul,  and,  with  our  first 
rational  exercise,  begins  an  existence  which  may  expe- 
rience many  vicissitudes,  may  pass  through  many  tran- 
sitions, but  can  never  terminate.  The  soul,  vivified 
with  power  to  think,  will  outlive  the  universe  which 
feeds  its  thought,  and  will  be  still  practising  its  juvenile 
excursions  at  the  mere  outset  of  its  opening  career, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  5 

while  suns  and  systems,  shorn  of  their  glories,  shall  sink, 
in  shattered  ruins,  to  the  caverns  of  eternal  oblivion 
But  the  soul  of  man, 

u  Vital  in  every  part, 
Cannot,  but  by  annihilation,  die." 

Its  two  great  faculties,  correspondent  to  the  two  great 
natural  elements  mentioned  above — the  capacity  to 
perceive  the  beautiful,  and  feel  the  sublime — are  at  once 
the  products  and  proofs  of  our  immortality.  They  in- 
dicate endowments  which  it  is  bliss  to  improve,  .and  a 
destiny  which  it  will  be  fearful  indeed  to  neglect. 

Dr.  Clarke  thought  that  the  lofty  genius  of  Alexan- 
der was  nourished  by  the  majestic  presence  of  Mount 
Olympus,  under  the  shadow  of  which  he  may  be  said 
to  have  been  born  and  bred.  If  grand  natural  scenery 
tends  permanently  to  affect  the  character  of  those 
cradled  on  its  bosom,  we  need  not  wonder  that  New 
Hampshire  is  the  nursery  of  patriotism  the  most  firm, 
and  eloquence  the  most  sublime.  Elastic  as  the  air 
they  breathe,  free  and  joyous  as  the  torrents  that  dash 
through  their  rural  possessions,  strong  as  the  granite 
hills  from  the  scanty  soil  of  which  they  wring  a  hardy 
livelihood,  her  enterprising  sons,  noble  and  high-minded 
by  natural  endowment,  are  like  the  glorious  regions  oi 
rugged  adventure  they  love  to  occupy.  This  is  an  uui- 
veral  rule.  The  Foulahs  dwelling  on  the  high  Alps  of 
Africa,  are  as  superior  to  the  tribes  living  beneath,  as 
the  natives  of  Cashmere  are  above  the  Hindoos,  or  as 
the  Tyrolese  are  nobler  than  the  Arab  race.  The  cha- 
racter of  individuals  and  of  nations  is  in  a  great  mea- 


6  LI\ING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

sure  influenced  by  their  local  position,  circumstances  of 
climate  and  education,  popular  traditions,  and  the 
scenery  in  the  midst  of  which  they  arise.  Popular 
manners  and  mental  characteristics  harmonize  with  the 
external  objects  with  which  they  are  surrounded.  The 
transition  from  the  monotonous  plains  of  Lombardy  to 
the  bod  precipices  of  Switzerland  is,  in  physical  nature, 
exactly  like  that,  in  moral  character,  from  the  crouching 
and  squalid  appearance  of  the  brutalized  peasant,  to  the 
independent  air  and  indomitable  energy  of  the  free-born 
and  intelligent  mountaineer.  The  athletic  form  and 
fearless  eye  of  the  latter  bespeak  the  freedom  he  has  won 
to  perpetuate  and  enjoy,  the  invigorating  elements  he 
buffets  in  hardy  toil,  and  the  daring  aspirations  he  is 
fearless  and  fervid  to  indulge. 

We  proceed,  secondly,  to  trace  the  youthful  discipline 
which  prepared  Mr.  Webster  for  the  functions  of  public 
life.  In  the  wild  and  uncultivated  region  where  he  was 
born,  and  in  that  age  of  savage  warfare,  it  cannot  be 
supposed  that  many  facilities  existed  for  procuring  a  re- 
fined education.  But,  ever  since  the  first  free  school 
was  established  on  the  wilderness-covered  peninsula  of 
Boston,  in  1636,  New  England  schoolmasters  have 
everywhere  kept  pace  with  the  woodman  in  pioneering 
the  progress  of  civilized  life.  Fortunately,  the  school 
found  Mr.  Webster  in  the  wilderness,  elicited  his. intel- 
lectual powers,  and  gave  direction  to  his  splendid  career. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  wise  policy  of  our  fathers,  in 
opening  free  instruction  to  all  classes  on  their  domain, 
this  master-mind  of  New  England  would  probably  have 
lain  dormant  and  unknown  to  the  present  hour.  This 


i 

DANIEL.     WEBSTER.  7 

fact  he  seems  himself  ever  to  have  felt,  as  we  may  infer 
from  the  remarks  which,  in  the  maturity  of  his  greatness, 
he  made  in  the  Convention  of  Massachusetts,  when,  in 
reference  to  popular  education,  he  said : — 

"  In  this  particular,  we  may  be  allowed  to  claim  a 
merit  of  a  very  high  and  peculiar  character.  This 
commonwealth,  with  other  of  the  New  England  States, 
early  adopted,  and  has  constantly  maintained,  the  prin- 
ciple, that  it  is  the  undoubted  right,  and  the  bounden 
duty  of  government,  to  provide  for  the  instruction  of  all 
youth.  That  which  is  elsewhere  left  to  chance,  or  to 
charity,  we  secure  by  law.  For  the  purpose  of  public 
instruction,  we  hold  every  man  subject  to  taxation,  in 
proportion  to  his  property,  and  we  look  not  to  the  ques- 
tion, whether  he,  himself,  have,  or  have  not  children  to 
be  benefitted  by  the  education  for  which  he  pays.  We 
regard  it  as  a  wise  and  liberal  system  of  police,  by  which 
property,  and  life,  and  the  peace  of  society  are  secured. 
We  seek  lo  prevent,  in  some  measure,  the  extension  of 
the  penal  code,  by  inspiring  a  salutary  and  conservative 
principle  of  virtue,  and  of  knowledge,  in  an  early  age. 
We  hope  to  excite  a  feeling  of  respectability,  and  a 
sense  of  character,  by  enlarging  the  capacity,  and  in- 
creasing the  sphere  of  intellectual  enjoyment.  By 
general  instruction,  we  seek,  as  far  as  possible,  to  purify 
the  whole  moral  atmosphere ;  to  keep  good  sentiments 
uppermost,  and  to  turn  the  strong  current  of  feeling  and 
opinion,  as  well  as  the  censures  of  the  law,  and  the 
denunciations  of  religion  against  immorality  and  crime. 
We  hope  for  a  security  beyond  the  law,  and  above  the 
law,  in  the  prevalence  of  enlightened  and  well-prin- 


8  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

cipled  moral  sentiment.  We  hope  to  continue  and  to 
prolong  the  time,  when,  in  the  villages  and  farm-houses 
of  New  England,  there  may  be  undisturbed  sleep, 
within  unbarred  doors.  And  knowing  that  our  govern- 
ment rests  directly  on  the  public  will,  that  we  may  pre- 
serve it,  we  endeavor  to  give  a  safe  and  proper  direction 
to  that  public  will.  We  do  not,  indeed,  expect  all  men 
to  be  philosophers,  or  statesmen  ;  but  we  confidently 
trust,  and  our  expectation  of  the  duration  of  our  system 
of  government  rests  on  that  trust,  that  by  the  diffusion 
of  general  knowledge,  and  good  and  virtuous  sentiments, 
the  political  fabric  may  be  secure,  as  well  against  open 
violence  and  overthrow,  as  against  the  slow  but  sure 
undermining  of  licentiousness." 

"I  rejoice,  Sir,  that  every  man  in  this  community 
may  call  all  property  his  own,  so  far  as  he  has  occasion 
for  it,  to  furnish  for  himself  and  his  children  the  bless- 
ings of  religious  instruction,  and  the  elements  of  know- 
ledge. This  celestial  and  this  earthly  light  he  is  entitled 
to  by  the  fundamental  laws.  It  is  every  poor  man's 
undoubted  birth-right,  it  is  the  great  blessing  which  this 
Constitution  has  secured  to  him,  it  is  his  solace  in  life, 
and  it  may  well  be  his  consolation  in  death,  that  his 
country  stands  pledged,  by  the  faith  which  it  has 
plighted  to  all  its  citizens,  to  protect  his  children  from 
ignorance,  barbarism,  and  vice." 

When  sixteen  years  old,  after  a  very  imperfect  prepa- 
ration, he  entered  Dartmouth  College,  and  graduated 
there  in  1801.  The  industry  of  his  pursuits,  and  the 
tokens  he  gave  of  coming  fame,  we  shall  notice  here- 
after. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  9 

Mr.  Webster  finished  the  study  of  his  profession  in 
Boston,  and  was  there  admitted  to  the  bar  in  18Q5. 
Mr.  Gore,  in  whose  office  he  had  read  law,  ven- 
tured, on  presenting  him,  to  make  a  prediction  to  the 
court  respecting  his  pupil's  future  eminence,  which,  san- 
guine as  it  was,  all  the  world  knows  has  been  more  than 
fulfilled.  His  first  practice  in  his  profession  was  in 
Boscawen,  a  small  village  near  the  place  of  his  birth  ; 
but  in  1807,  he  removed  to  Portsmouth,  where  he  strug- 
gled for  some  time,  was  finally  burned  out,  and  moved 
to  Boston,  with  the  hope  of  bettering  his  fortunes. 

Up  to  this  period,  his  perpetual  strife  with  penury, 
obscurity,  and  misfortune,  was  no  holiday  work.  Let  us 
inquire  into  the  effects  produced  by  severe  and  pro- 
tracted discipline  upon  his  mental  character  and  public 
influence.  The  circumstances  of  his  family  compelled 
him  to  rely  on  his  own  exertions  mainly  for  support. 
The  labors  he  performed,  and  the  sacrifices  to  which  he 
submitted,  for  the  sake  of  his  own  and  a  brother's  edu- 
cation, are  said  to  be  among  the  most  remarkable 
achievements  of  even  his  remarkable  life.  It  would 
seem  as  if  he  was  determined  to  act  for  himself,  as  he 
advised  the  government  to  act  in  reference  to  the  war 
of  1812;  "  if  need  be,  to  accompany  your  own  flag 
throughout  the  world,  with  the  protection  of  your  own 
cannon" 

The  first  thing  to  be  remarked  under  this  head,  is, 
that  as  a  student,  Mr.  Webster  was  exceedingly  dili- 
gent. One  of  his  classmates  has  attested  with  the  live- 
liest interest  to  the  generous  and  magnanimous  spirit  he 
showed  among  his  early  competitors,  in  the  midst  of 
1* 


10  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

whom,  he  at  the  outset  manifested  aspirations  entirely 
beyond  his  condition,  and  which  soon  enabled  him  to 
leave  all  rivalship  far  in  his  rear.  He  possessed  too 
much  native  force  to  rely  implicitly  on  any  master,  but 
at  the  same  time  profited  by  all  the  resources  the  most 
diligent  study  could  command,  and  wrought  them  into 
his  own  type  of  excellence,  as  Michael  Angelo  broke 
the  marble  with  his  chisel,  and  thence  elicited  the  ideal 
colossus  first  projected  within  his  own  soul.  Said  that 
great  sculptor  to  a  promising  pupil,  "  Learn  to  sketch 
before  you  attempt  to  finish."  This  was  Webster's 
practice.  He  incessantly  cultivated  the  habit  of  distinct 
conception,  and  clearly  defined  thought  in  diversified 
composition.  The  greatest  faculties  are  much  more 
freqently  "evaporated  in  indolence  than  in  exertion  ; 
while  it  is  the  latter  only  that  confers  true  happiness, 
and  guarantees  permanent  success.  The  luxury  which 
young  genius  enjoys  in  contemplating  its  own  outlines 
vigorously  conceived,  creates  the  strongest  passion  for 
elaborated  execution,  and  prompts  to  the  most  untiring 
efforts  after  a  graceful  finish  of  its  own  magnificent 
plans. 

Another  important  matter  to  mention  under  this  head 
is,  that  Mr.  Webster  has  always  labored  to  attain  a 
manly,  as  well  as  a  mental  education.  Milton  said  :  "I 
call  a  complete  and  generous  education  that  which  fits 
a  man  to  perform  justly,  skillfully,  and  magnanimously, 
all  the  offices,  both  private  and  public,  of  peace  and 
war."  This  is  comprehensive,  and  as  a  general  defini- 
tion, is  as  good  as  any  that  can  be  given. 

To  educate  is  to  develop  ;    not  to  make  one  man  all 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  H 

Latin,  another  all  mathematics ;  it  is  to  unfold  a  man 
indeed,  himself  all  developed.  A  pupil  is  educated 
when  he  is  made  a  hero  in  his  own  individuality ;  a  soul 
powerful  in  acts,  fruitful  in  grand  results  ;  an  adult  in 
intellect,  a  rational  creature  well  trained,  who  will,  who 
can,  who  does. 

One  of  the  renowned  philosophers  of  antiquity  beau- 
tifully said  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  "  I  call  them  not 
mine  but  me.  It  is  these  which  make  the  man ;  which 
are  the  man."  Now,  that  system  of  education  which 
most  effectually  reaches  the  latent  powers  of  mankind, 
and  brings  them  out  in  vigorous  discipline,  is  the  most 
manly  and  the  best.  Men  are  valuable,  not  in  propor- 
tion to  what  they  know,  but  to  what  they  can  do. 
Every.youth  has  a  can  do  in  him.  It  is  the  office  of 
education  to  reach  that,  and  impart  to  it  the  potency  of 
practical  exercise.  The  versatile  pen,  the  delicate  pen- 
cil, the  creative  chisel,  and  the  eloquent  tongue  seem 
wonderful  to  one  contemplating  their  facility  and  power. 
But  everything  about  them  is  perfectly  simple  and  easy 
to  him  who  possesses  and  has  cultivated  his  own  can  do. 

The  process  by  which  an  efficient  education  is  attain- 
ed, is  not  the  tame  passivity  of  the  pupil  to  pedantic 
dogmatizings.  "  How  many  young  men,"  said  Cole- 
ridge, "are  anxiously  and  expensively  be-schoolmas- 
tered,  be-tutored,  be-lectured,  anything  but  educated; 
who  have  received  arms  and  amunition,  instead  of  skill, 
strength,  and  courage  ;  varnished  rather  than  polished ; 
perilously  over-civilized,  and  most  pitiably  uncultivated. 
And  all  from  inattention  to  the  method  dictated  by  na- 
ture herself,  to  the  simple  truth,  tjiat  as  the  forms  of  all 


12  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

organized  existence,  so  must  all  true  and  living  know- 
ledge, proceed  from  within  ;  that  it  may  be  trained,  sup- 
ported, fed,  excited,  but  can  never  be  infused  nor  im- 
pressed." 

This  is  a  luminous  statement  of  what  we  should 
never  forget.  We  are  not  to  shape  the  mind  by  external 
pressure,  paint  it  over  with  artificial  hues,  or  mechanize 
its  powers ;  but  to  start  its  germs  by  genial  teaching, 
and  prompt  its  natural  and  majestic  growth  from  the 
centre  outward,  as  the  acorn  expands  into  an  oak.  The 
main  thing  is  to  awaken  the  principle  and  method  of 
self-development,  not  so  much  by  conveying  information 
into  the  mind  as  to  invigorate  in  it  the  power  of  send- 
ing thought  out.  The  human  soul  is  not  a  mere  dep6t, 
a  passive  receptacle  for  all  sorts  of  trumpery  that  may 
therein  be  stowed  by  the  arbitrary  will  of  some  mental 
baggage-master;  but  it  is  a  living  and  self- producing 
agent,  which  is  to  be  carefully  "placed  in  such  relations 
to  appropriate  aliment,  as  to  excite  the  latent,  original 
power  that  craves  only  such  knowledge  as  it  can  appro- 
priate to  itself,  and  can  re-produce  in  shapes  and  excel- 
lence all  its  own.  Now  to  attain  this  end,  due  attention 
must  be  paid  to  our  physical,  mental,  and  moral  culture. 

First  of  all,  good  heed  must  be  given  to  the  education 
of  the  body ;  a  kind  of  cultivation  as  imperious  as  any 
other,  since  the  body  is  as  susceptible  of  improvement 
as  the  mind.  Our  person,  with  all  its  complicated  and 
diversified  faculties,  physical  and  mental,  is  an  unit,  ar.d 
does  not  admit  of  being  developed  in  fragments.  Man 
must  grow  up  harmoniously,  if  he  would  rise  to  useful- 
ness, with  simultaneous  expansion  in  trunk,  branch  an^ 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  13 

foliage,  as  grows  a  tree  ;  the  sap  of  immortal  energy 
must  circulate  without  hindrance  in  every  fibre,  matur- 
ing fruits  perennial  and  divine. 

Two  laws  are  manifest  in  the  constitution  of  our  na- 
ture, a  due  regard  to  which  cannot  but  conduce  to  our 
welfare  and  elevate  our  conceptions  of  the  Supreme 
BEING.  In  the  first  place,  in  proportion  as  the  physical 
nature  of  a  man  is  healthfully  developed  by  suitable  dis- 
cipline, winning  the  greatest  vigor  of  limb,  and  the  great- 
est acuteness  of  sense,  he  will  derive  important  aids  to 
the  intellect  and  moral  powers  from  the  perfections  of 
his  outward  frame.  Moreover,  by  a  delightful  re-action, 
the  mind,  in  proportion  as  it  is  invigorated  and  beauti- 
fied, gives  strength  and  elegance  to  the  body,  and  en- 
larges the  sphere  of  action  and  enjoyment.  These  laws 
have  been  recognized  and  observed  by  the  best  educa- 
tors of  the  world.  At  Athens,  the  gymnasia  became 
temples  of  the  Graces.  They  were  not  merely  places 
of  exercise  for  the  young,  but  drew  to  their  halls,  porti- 
coes, baths,  and  groves,  the  most  distinguished  votaries 
of  every  art  and  science.  The  scenes  of  this  kind  most 
celebrated  were  the  Academy  where  Plato  taught,  the 
Lyceum  where  Aristotle  lectured,  and  the  Kynosargy. 
In  these  the  refined  Greek  could  gratify  his  fondness  for 
the  beautiful,  by  the  sight  of  the  finest  figures,  in  the 
prime  of  youth,  exercising  amidst  objects  and  associa- 
tions of  the  greatest  elegance.  Surrounded  on  every 
hand  by  the  combined  charms  of  nature  and  art,  the 
young  men  were  seen  exhilarated  with  athletic  sports, 
and  the  old  imparting  wisdom  in  the  presence  of  the 
most  splendid  ideal  forms.  Then  and  there  physical 


14  LIVING    ORATOK8    IN    AMERICA. 

education  began  with  life  and  constantly  augmented  its 
force.  Every  festival  of  childhood  was  made  enchant- 
ing with  flowers  and  music ;  the  barge,  as  it  was  pushed 
in  boyish  sport  on  the  lake,  was  crowded  with  garlands  ; 
the  oars  were  moved  to  the  sound  of  "  sweet  recorders," 
and  the  patriotic  mother  at  home  sang  an  inspiring  lul- 
laby, as  she  rocked  her  infant  to  sleep  in  the  broad  shield 
of  its  father.  There  were  wrestlings  in  the  open  palaes- 
tra, as  well  as  races  and  heroic  games ;  there  were  gay 
revels  on  the  mountain  sides,  and  moonlight  dances  in 
the  groves. 

The  field  of  Olympia  was  to  the  Greeks  the  most  sa- 
cred enclosure  of  the  gods.  The  games  thereon  prac- 
ticed, among  other  uses,  promoted  manly  education,  by 
teaching  that  the  body  has  its  honors  as  well  as  the  in- 
tellect. They  felt  that  vast  importance  belongs  to  phy- 
sical agility  and  strength,  not  only  that  the  mind  may  be 
thus  aided  in  energetic  action,  but  that  a  firm  basis 
be  laid  in  a  sound  body  for  the  exercise  of  manly  vir- 
tues. Without  physical  vigor,  the  feeble  flickerings  of 
the  mind  are  only  "  a  gilded  halo  hovering  round 
decay.'' 

The  national  games  described  in  the  twenty-fourth 
book  of  the  Iliad,  the  eighth  of  the  Odyssey,  and  by  Virgil 
in  the  fifth  book  of  the  ./Eneid,  all  relate  to  important 
elements  in  a  manly  education.  Those  ancient  festi- 
vals had  the  finest  influence  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
metropolis,  and  upon  those  who  dwelt  the  most  remote. 
Every  pilgrim  through  such  lands,  to  such  shrines,  be- 
came Briareus-handed  and  Argus-eyed  :  the  beautiful 
scenes,  full  of  patriotic  and  refined  associations  which 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  15 

everywhere  arrested  his  attention,  gave  him  the  travel- 
ler's "thirsty  eye,"  filled  his  mind  with  thrilling  reminis- 
cences, and  caused  him  to  return  to  his  home  glowing 
with  brilliant  descriptions  and  burdened  with  exalted 
thoughts.  It  was  thus  that  the  youthful  Greek  mingled 
with  his  studies  pedestrian  exercise  and  acute  observa- 
tion, formed  his  body  to  fatigue,  while  he  stored  his 
mind  with  lofty  ideas,  and  became  equally  skilled  in 
handling  a  sword,  building  a  temple,  or  subduing  a 
horse. 

In  the  festival  of  the  Panathenaea,  as  the  name  im- 
ports, all  the  people  of  Attica  engaged  in  the  celebration, 
wearing  their  chaplets  of  flowers.  The  sports  began 
early  in  the  morning,  with  races  on  the  banks  of  the  II- 
lissus,  in  which  the  sons  of  the  most  distinguished  citi- 
zens contended  for  the  palm.  Next  came  the  wrestling 
and  gymnastic  contests  in  the  Stadium,  succeeded  by 
still  more  refined  competitions  in  the  Odeum,  where  the 
most  exquisite  musicians  executed  rival  pieces  on  the 
flute  or  cithara,  while  others  sang  and  accompanied  their 
voices  with  the  sweetest  instruments.  The  theme  present- 
ed to  the  competitors  was  the  eulogy  of  Hermodius,  Aristo- 
geiton,  and  Thrasybulus,  who  had  rescued  the  republic 
from  the  yoke  of  tyranny.  Thus  the  popular  pastimes 
of  the  Athenians  tended  to  commemorate  the  patriots 
who  had  served  their  country,  as  well  as  to  excite  the 
spectators  to  an  emulation  of  their  virtues.  Painters 
exhibited  the  fruits  of  their  skill ;  sculptors  adorned  the 
road-side,  the  groves,  and  the  temples  of  the  gods  ;  poets 
contended  for  the  dramatic  prize,  each  being  allowed  to 


16  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

produce  four  pieces  ;  and  the  eloquence  of  history  fired 
with  rapture  thousands  of  exulting  hearts. 

The  procession  to  the  temple  of  Pythian  Apollo,  which 
closed  the  day  with  religious  rites,  was  composed  of  dif- 
ferent classes  of  citizens,  adorned  with  garlands,  among 
whom  were  seen  old  men  of  majestic  mien,  bearing 
branches  of  olive ;  others  of  middle  age,  armed  with 
lances  and  bucklers  as  if  ready  to  engage  in  war ; 
youths,  who  sang  hymns  in  honor  of  Minerva ;  beauti- 
ful boys,  clad  in  a  graceful  tunic ;  and  lastly  girls,  se- 
lected from  the  first  families  in  Athens,  attracting  every 
eye  by  their  unequalled  charms. 

At  night  there  was  a  torch-race  of  the  most  agile 
youth,  stationed  at  equal  distances,  the  first  of  whom,  on 
a  signal  given  by  the  shout  of  the  multitude,  lighted  his 
flambeau  at  the  altar  of  Prometheus,  and  at  the  top  of  his 
speed  handed  it  to  the  second,  who  trasmitted  it  in  the 
same  manner  to  the  third,  and  so  on  in  rapid  succession 
to  the  last.  He  who  suffered  his  torch  to  be  extinguished 
was  excluded  from  the  lists,  and  they  who  slackened  in 
their  pace  were  exposed  to  the  railleries  and  blows  of 
the  populace.  It  was  necessary  to  pass  through  all  the 
stations  with  success,  in  order  to  gain  the  prize.  How 
hard  it  is  to  over-estimate  the  amount  of  vigor,  bodily 
and  mental,  which  was  won  from  such  chaste  and  in- 
tpiring  recreations ! 

The  ludicrous  remark  of  Frederick  the  Great,  that 
man  "  seems  more  adapted  by  nature  for  a  postillion 
than  a  philosopher,"  is  not  without  foundation ;  but  there 
is  no  necessary  incompatibility  between  great  mental 
activity  and  habitual  good  health,  provided  proper  atten- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  17 

tion  is  paid  to  physical  culture.  The  old  maxim  that 
"  all  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy,"  is  quite 
true.  There  is  health  of  mind  in  innocent  hilarity. 
There  is  health  in  bodily  sports  which  combine  ani- 
mated exercise  with  amusement.  There  is  health  of 
soul  in  the  contemplation  of  nature,  when  he  who  con- 
templates, adores,  and  early  learns  to  "  look  through  na- 
ture up  to  nature's  GOD."  The  benefit  of  moderate  ex- 
citement is  often  very  great  on  the  moral  constitution  and 
physical  frame,  and  should  be  temperately  indulged  in 
by  all,  according  to  the  predispositions  of  each.  Some 
inherit  a  passion  for  the  gun,  and  others  for  the  angle  ; 
some  are  fond  of  equestrian  excursions,  while  others 
love  to  foot  it  along  the  quiet  shores  of  lakes,  and  on 
sublime  mountain  tops.  Shakspeare  gave  us  a  maxim 
of  wisdom  in  literary  pursuits,  when  he  said,  "  Study 
what  you  most  affect ;"  and  in  our  recreations  we 
should  pursue  what  is  most  congenial  to  native  tastes. 
Hard  study  should  be  succeeded  by  hardy  exercise  in 
some  appropriate  form.  The  foot-ball  at  Rugby,  and  the 
regatta  at  Eaton,  bowling  at  Harrow,  and  cricket  at 
Westminster,  succeeded  by  all  those  invigorating  exer- 
cises in  constant  practice  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
give  lo  England  the  most  elegant  and  able-bodied 
scholars  in  the  world. 

But  vigorous  mental  development  is  a  prime  quality 
in  a  manly  education.  Man  is  not  all  soul,  therefore  he 
is  not  conditioned  as  an  angel ;  neither  is  he  all  body, 
and  for  this  reason  he  cannot  with  impunity  live  as  a 
brute.  We  have  sensibilities  as  well  as  senses,  spirit  as 
well  as  flesh.  We  are  a  compound  of  earth  and  heaven ; 


18  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

dust  tempered  with  tears,  and  quickened  with  a  spark 
unquenchable ;  a  spirit  exiled  in  a  prison  of  clay,  and 
both  tenant  and  tabernacle  must  be  cared  for.  It  is 
ignoble  to  be,  like  a  wild  hunter,  all  exercise  and  no 
thought ;  it  is  equally  suicidal  to  dignified  excellence  to 
be,  like  too  many  votaries  of  science,  all  thought  and 
no  exercise.  A  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body  was  long 
since  deemed  the  great  desideratum  ;  and  this  we  should 
be  most  strenuous  to  attain.  To  be  successful,  we  must 
"  be  in  eye  of  every  exercise."  We  must  feel  that  it  is 
belter  to  have  a  reed  that  will  do  us  some  service  than 
a  pike  that  we  have  neither  the  strength  nor  skill  to 
heave : 

"  Our  remedies  oft  in  ourselves  do  lie, 
Which  we  ascribe  to  heaven  ;  the  fated  sky 
Gives  us  free  scope  ;  only  doth  backward  pull 
Our  slow  designs  when  we  ourselves  are  dull." 

One  must  not  only  be  a  zealous  worshipper  of  know- 
ledge, but  he  must  learn  to  pluck  the  fruit  fresh  from  the 
tree  with  a  vigorous  hand.  He  must  be  a  devout  and 
active  student  in  the  great  university  of  nature,  where 
one  can  gather  materials  such  as  dogmatism  and  "  dried 
preparations"  never  afford.  Careful  scrutiny  of  the 
world  and  profound  meditation  constitute  the  most  an- 
cient and  infallible  road  to  the  soundest  learning;  he 
who  pursues  his  manly  career  therein,  will  not  be  of  that 
feeble  class  whose  listless  hand  "hangs  like  dead  bone 
within  its  withered  skin,"  but  vigorously  will  he  grow, 
refreshed  by  the  purest  fountains,  and  enriched  with  the 
most  valuable  stores.  Deep  and  passionate  love  of 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  19 

knowledge  for  its  own  sake  indicates  the  soul  of  true 
scholarship.  This  is  the  sun  of  the  heaven  within  us, 
around  which  the  elements  of  our  mental  being  gathei 
in  delightful  harmony  and  concentrate  their  force. 
Warmed  into  action  by  this  luminary,  and  transfigured 
by  its  beams,  the  mind  goes  forth  in  action  like  the  son 
of  Tydeus,  with  glory  blazing  round  it,  kindling  aston- 
ishment and  emulous  delight.  The  grand  object  of 
schooling  is  never  attained  until  all  the  priceless  powers 
of  our  nature  are  quickened  and  fortified  by  the  true,  the 
beautiful,  the  good  and  the  grand;  until  each  faculty,  in 
its  own  place  and  proportion,  is  thoroughly  trained,  and 
our  physical  and  mental  energies  are  moulded  to  a  sym- 
metrical whole,  of  the  purest,  holiest  and  most  enchant- 
ing harmony. 

Education  is  soul-excitement,  and  that  is  the  best  dis- 
cipline for  spiritual  faculties  which  most  effectually  stim- 
ulates their  growth,  moulds  their  awakening  energies, 
elicits  and  augments  their  strength.  The  main  ques- 
tion is  not  what  will  make  youth  pedants,  or  bigots,  or 
partisans,  but  what  will  make  them  men  ?  This  will 
demand  concentration  of  purpose  and  liberality  of  feel- 
ing. Concentration  is  essential  to  profitable  acquisition. 
The  stream,  divided  into  many  channels,  ceases  to  flow 
either  deep  or  strong.  To  waste  one's  strength  in  fri- 
volous endeavors  is  to  covet  the  transient  dazzle  of  an 
exploded  rocket,  rather  than  the  perpetual  blaze  of  the 
unquenchable  sun.  Many  men  of  great  natural  capa- 
cities, for  want  of  persevering  fixedness  of  purpose,  are 
utterly  lost  to  the  world;  men  whose  intellect  is  emi- 


20  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

nently  original  and  creative,  competent  under  suitable 
discipline  to  upraise 

41  A  WILDERNESS  of  building,  sinking  far, 
And  self-withdrawn  into  a  wondrous  depth, 
Far  sinking  into  splendor,  without  end." 

Unfortunately,  however,  for  themselves  and  the  world, 
too  many  neglect  wholesome  training,  and  supinely  waste 
their  fine  energies  in  "one  long  day  of  summer  indo- 
lence." But  mental  action  cannot  be  intense  unless  all 
the  faculties  are  made  to  play  within  a  narrow  range. 
The  electric  fluid  is  as  impotent  as  the  unbounded  air  it 
sleeps  in,  until  concentrated  in  a  thunder-cloud.  Nature 
has  closely  confined  the  muscles  in  our  frame,  in  order 
to  give  them  the  highest  degree  of  power  in  combined 
action ;  and  in  the  same  way  our  spiritual  capacities, 
to  attain  their  full  force,  must  be  brought  to  bear  on  a 
single  point,  and  work  within  exclusive  limits.  It  is  ne- 
cessary that  even  solar  heat  should  be  converged  to  a 
focus  of  ten  thousand  beams  ere  it  will  burn. 

Education  is  not  an  abstract  theory,  a  lifeless  creed, 
stored  away  in  the  torpid  brain  like  obsolete  relics  de- 
posited on  musty  shelves;  it  is  concrete  power,  generat- 
ed by  the  collision  of  great  truths  and  vital  principles, 
as  lightning  is  elicited  by  the  contact  of  opposing  clouds, 
and  must  be  brought  to  bear  with  instantaneous  and  ir- 
resistible fulminations  on  the  intellect  and  heart  of  man- 
kind. Now  the  source  and  secret  of  this  master  endow- 
ment is  generosity  of  feeling.  Its  possessor  will  seek 
knowledge  and  influence,  not  for  personal  aggrandize- 
ment, but  for  the  public  good.  He  is  not  of  that  dry, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  21 

phlegmatic  and  miserable  class  of  professed  scholars, 
"plunged  to  *he  hilt  in  musty  tomes,  and  rusted  in,"  who 
industriously  accumulate  their  petty  stores,  and  are  for- 
ever "  bristling  up  with  small  facts,"  but  who  labor  only 
for  self,  and  consequently  win  only  contempt.  An  old 
author  has  said  that  "we  fatten  a  sheep  with  grass, 
not  in  order  to  obtain  a  crop  of  hay  from  his  back,  but 
in  the  hope  he  will  feed  us  with  mutton,  and  clothe  us 
with  wool."  We  should  replenish  the  mind  with  sound 
principles,  and  seek  the  discipline  of  severe  study,  in  or- 
der more  successfully  to  conquer  the  chicanery  of 
the  bar,  the  sophistry  of  the  senate,  the  stupidity  of 
the  pulpit,  and  the  sinfulness  of  the  world.  Education 
is  the  armor  of  the  mind  ;  but  that  armor  will  be  worse 
than  none  if  it  be  inflexible  from  rust,  or  too  ponderous 
for  the  wearer's  use. 

The  professed  man  of  letters,  who  constantly  acquires 
and  yet  never  has  the  force  of  genius  to  produce,  acts 
the  ridiculous  part  of  an  architect  who  never  executes 
a  plan,  or  a  sculptor  who  never  clips  a  stone.  Of  all 
idjers  he  is  the  most  contemptible  who  fritters  away  tal- 
ent and  existence  under  such  professions.  What  use  is 
it  to  be  forever  familiarizing  one's  self  with  books,  those 
"  monuments  of  vanished  minds,"  as  D'Avenant  well 
called  them,  and  yet  never  be  vivified  with  an  original 
thought.  This  is  to  resemble  Pharaoh's  lean  kine,  con- 
stantly eating  and  constantly  poor,  rather  than  the  more, 
useful  worm  that  spins  from  its  own  bowels  the  robes  of 
grandest  monarchs,  transforming  every  leaf  it  eats  into 
resplendent  and  practical  usefulness.  In  national  armo- 
ries we  sometimes  see  large  quantities  of  martial  imple- 


22  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ments  curiously  arranged  in  fantastic  forms.  How  much 
more  impressive  they  would  be  if  seen  glittering  in  quick- 
motion  on  the  field,  and  how  much  more  potent  would 
be  their  use  when  grasped  by  well-disciplijred  legions, 
rushing  to  the  final  charge.  A  single  weapon  wielded 
by  a  chivalrous  and  resolute  hero  would  be  more  effect- 
ive than  the  holyday  show  of  all  the  martial  weapons  in 
repose  on  earth. 

We  have  mentioned  two  prominent  traits  in  the  early 
discipline  practiced  by  Mr.  Webster,  severe  mental  toil 
accompanied  with  vigorous  physical  exercise.  It  is  im- 
portant to  remark,  thirdly,  that  while  he  was  thus  dili- 
gent in  mastering  knowledge  and  acquiring  strength  of 
every  kind,  he  was  equally  critical  and  constant  in 
watching  the  conduct  of  the  wise,  and  in  emulating  the 
best  professional  models.  We  have  been  told  that,  for 
years  before  he  became  distinguished  at  the  bar,  and 
long  afterwards,  he  was  constant  in  his  attendance  on 
all  business,  with  his  note-book  before  him,  listening  at- 
tentively to  the  best  counsel,  and  writing  down  carefully 
every  sagacious  remark  from  the  bench.  It  is  a  great 
advantage  and  auspicious  omen  for  a  young  man,  quiet- 
ly to  listen  to  his  superiors,  while  in  doing  so  he  delibe- 
rately resolves  to  emulate  their  excellence,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, exceed  them  in  both  power  and  speed. 

At  an  early  day,  Mr.  Webster  formed  the  habit  of 
.thinking  with  a  pen  in  his  hand,  and  of  inscribing  his 
thought  before  him,  in  the  simplest  and  most  perspicu- 
ous form  ;  in  this  way,  he  acquired  a  wonderful  facility 
in  conceiving  and  expressing  his  ideas  in  the  most  lumi- 
nous and  forcible  style.  He  may  have  learned  from 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  23 

Aristotle,  that,  of  the  four  elements  of  education,  design 
is  to  be  placed  on  a  level  with  grammar.  At  any  rate, 
more  than  any  other  orator  living,  probably,  he  has  al- 
ways been  most  studious. of  clearness  and  accuracy  in 
constructing  the  basis  and  outlines  of  his  discourse.  Il 
was  thus,  that  from  the  beginning  he  cultivated  correct 
habits  of  thought,  perpetually  subdued  himself  to  philoso 
phical  propriety  and  critical  analysis,  reined  in  his  mor$ 
impetuous  faculties,  made  reason  supreme,  and  combined 
elaborated  meditation  with  logical  truth.  This  spirit  of 
grand  conception,  habitual  research,  and  fervid  enthusi- 
asm, ambitious  only  for  the  execution  of  loftiest  pur- 
poses, is  the  sure  prognostic  of  consummate  excellence, 
and  the  only  foundation  for  lasting  fame.  The  great 
architect  and  adorner  of  the  Parthenon  possessed  it,  and 
hence,  "  Nothing  is  more  perfect  than  Phidias,"  says 
Cicero:  "  You  cannot  praise  him  enough,"  says  Pliny: 
"  He  made  gods  better  than  men,"  says  Quintilian;  the 
secret  of  all  which  capacity  and  worth  is  stated  by  Plato 
who  testifies  that  "  Phidias  was  skillful  in  beauty."  AK 
though  he  executed  figures  of  the  most  exalted  beings 
only,  and  these  in  gigantic  forms,  every  feature  and 
limb  were  invested  with  dignified  splendor,  because  he 
always  wrought  in  the  most  valuable  materials,  accord- 
ing to  the  strictest  rules  and  with  the  greatest  care. 

Thus  disciplined,  we  cannot  wonder  that  his  law- 
teacher  prophesied  for  young  Webster  great  success, 
and  that  at  a  subsequent  period,  in  noticing  his  transla- 
tion to  the  highest  American  forum,  the  Boston  Courier 
should  say  :  "  The  election  has  placed  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  Stages  a  man  who  will  ably  defend  the  mea- 


24  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMEBICA. 

sures  ot  the  National  Administration,  so  far  as  they  can 
be  justified  by  a  liberal  construction  of  the  Constitution, 
and  tend  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  coun- 
try/' This  brings  us  to  our 

Third  general  point,  viz.,  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Webster's 
professional  career.  "  Great  wits  in  every  age,"  says 
Lord  Bacon,  "  have  been  overborne,  and  in  a  sort, 
tyranized  over ;  whilst  men  of  capacity  and  comprehen- 
sion above  the  vulgar,  (yet  consulting  their  own  credit 
and  reputation..)  have  submitted  themselves  to  the  over- 
swaying  judgment  of  time  and  multitude.  Therefore, 
if  in  any  time  and  place,  more  profound  contemplations 
have  perchance  emerged  and  revealed  themselves,  they 
have  been  forthwith  lost  and  extinguished  by  the  winds 
and  tempests  of* popular  opinions."  This  will  hardly 
apply  to  our  statesman-orator,  who  has  the  more  tri- 
umphantly succeeded,  because  from  the  beginning  he 
never  designed  to  raise  a  splendid  structure  on  a  quick- 
sand, but  on  a  solid  foundation,  acquired  by  habitual 
precision  of  thought,  fixedness  of  purpose,  and  indomita- 
ble energy  of  pursuit.  From  the  time  he  moved  to 
Portsmouth,  in  1807,  his  career  was  a  steady  advance 
towards  the  highest  functions  and  the  widest  influence. 
The  wisest  judge  in  the  State,  the  late  Gov.  Smith,  and 
the  strongest  lawyer,  Mr.  Mason,  recently  deceased, 
ivere  his  professional  rivals  and  admiring  friends. 
Called  in  early,  manhood  to  antagonize  with  veterans  of 
ihe  amplest  resources,  and  of  the  quickest  penetration  ; 
he  battled  bravely  with  men  whose  comprehensive  men- 
tal grasp,  rigid  logic,  and  apt  illustration,  left  no  safety 
or  hope,  to  their  young  adversary,  but  in  equal  vigor, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  25 

industry,  and  skill.  In  this  wholesome  school  of  severe 
and  rugged  professional  practice,  Mr.  Webster  doubt- 
less  acquired  much  of  that  intellectual  training  and 
power,  which  subsequently  rendered  him  greatly  supe- 
rior to  most  advocates,  and  inferior  to  none. 

His  first  political  office  was  the  one  to  which  he  was 
elected  in  1812,  when  he  was  hardly  thirty  years  old,  as 
a  member  of  the  thirteenth  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  Among  the  debates  in  which  he  distinguished 
himself,  the  bill  for  "encouraging  enlistments,"  in  Janu- 
ary, 1814,  drew  from  him  a  highly  patriotic  speech,  of 
which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  The  humble  aid  which  it  would  be  in  my  power  to 
render  to  measures  of  government,  shall  be  given  cheer- 
fully, if  government  will  pursue  measures  which  I  can 
conscientiously  support.  If,  even  now,  failing  in  an 
honest  and  sincere  attempt  to  procure-  a  just  and  honor- 
able peace,  it  will  return  to  measures  of  defence  and 
protection,  such  as  reason,  and  common  sense,  and  the 
public  opinion,  all  call  for,  my  vote  shall  not  be  with- 
holden  from  the  means.  Give  up  your  futile  projects  of 
invasion.  Extinguish  the  fires  that  blaze  on  your  in- 
land frontiers.  Establish  perfect  safety  and  defence 
there  by  adequate  force.  Let  every  man  that  sleeps  on 
your  soil  sleep  in  security.  Stop*  the  blood  that  flows 
from  the  veins  of  unarmed  yeomanry,  and  women  and 
children.  Give  to  the  living  time  to  bury  and  lament 
their  dead,  in  the  quietness  of  private  sorrow.  Having 
performed  this  work  of  beneficence  and  mercy  on  your 
inland  border,  turn  and  look  with  the  eye  of  justice  and 
compassion  on  your  vast  population  along  the  coast. 


26  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Unclench  the  iron  grasp  of  your  embargo.  Take  mea- 
sures for  that  end,  before  another  sun  sets  upon  you. 
With  all  the  war  of  the  enemy  on  your  commerce,  if 
you  would  cease  to  make  war  upon  it  yourselves,  you 
would  still  have  some  commerce.  That  commerce 
would  give  you  some  revenue.  Apply  that  revenue  to 
the  augmentation  of  your  navy.  That  navy,  in  turn, 
will  protect  your  commerce.  Let  it  no  longer  be  said, 
that  not  one  ship  of  force,  built  by  your  hands  since  the 
war,  yet  floats  upon  the  ocean.  Turn  the  current  of 
your  efforts  into  the  channel,  which  national  sentiment 
has  already  worn  broad  and  deep  to  receive  it.  A  naval 
force,  competent  to  defend  your  coast  against  consider- 
able armaments,  to  convoy  your  trade,  and  perhaps  raise 
the  blockade  of  your  rivers,  is'not  a  chimera.  It  may 
be  realized.  If,  then,  the  war  must  continue,  go  to  the 
ocean.  If  you  are  seriously  contending  for  maritime 
rights,  go  to  the  theatre  where  alone  those  rights  can 
be  defended.  Thither  every  indication  of  your  fortunes 
points  you.  There  the  united  wishes  and  exertions  of 
the  nation  will  go  with  you.  Even  our  party  divisions, 
acrimonious  as  they  are,  cease  at  the  water's  edge. 
They  are  lost  in  attachment  to  the  national  character, 
on  the  element  where  that  character  is  made  respectable. 
In  protecting  naval  interests  by  naval  means,  you  will 
arm  yourselves  with  the  whole  power  of  national  senti- 
ment, and  may  command  the  whole  abundance  of  the 
national  resource.  In  time  you  may  be  enabled  to  re- 
dress injuries  in  the  place  where  they  may  be  offered ; 
and,  if  need  be,  to  accompany  your  own  flag  throughout 
the  world  with  the  protection  of  your  own  cannon." 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  27 

Later,  in  the  same  Congress,  he  contributed  very  much 
to  the  establishment  of  a  sound  currency,  by  the  over- 
throw of  the  paper-bank  system.  He  was  re-elected  to 
New  Hampshire  for  the  fourteenth  Congress,  and  sat 
there  during  the  sessions  of  1815-16,  and  1816-17. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  he  introduced  and  carried 
a  Resolution,  still  a  part  of  the  law  of  the  United  States, 
the  effect  of  which  was  to  require  the  revenue  to  be  re- 
ceived only  in  the  legal  currency  of  the  country,  or  in 
bills  equal  to  that  currency  in  value. 

His  income  at  Portsmouth  being  insufficient  to  repair 
the  heavy  loss  he  had  sustained  in  the  great  fire  of  1813, 
Mr.  Webster  now  retired  for  a  season  from  public  life, 
and,  in  1816,  removed  to  Boston,  in  search  of  wider 
practice  in  his  profession  and  ampler  revenues.  For  six 
or  eight  years,  he  refused  to  accept  office,  avoided  all 
political  discussion,  and  gave  his  entire  energies  to  the 
business  of  the  bar.  He  had  now  distinguished  himself 
as  a  lawyer  in  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  in  his  native 
State,  and  two  terms  in  Congress  had  caused  him  to  be 
widely  known  as  a  distinguished  statesman,  young  as  he 
was.  But  the  hour  now  cajne,  when  his  rank  as  a  jurist, 
was  to  be  no  less  clearly  determined  and  widely  pro- 
claimed. On  the  10th  of  March,  1818,  before  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  at  Washington,  he 
made  his  argument  in  behalf  of  Dartmouth  College.  It 
is  said  the  court-room  was  excessively  crowded,  not 
only  with  a  large  assemblage  of  the  most  eminent  law- 
yers of  the  Union,  but  with  many  of  its  leading  states- 
men,— drawn  there  no  less  by  the  importance  of  the 
cause,  and  the  wide  results  that  would  follow  its  decision, 


28  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

than  by  the  known  eloquence  of  Mr.  Hopkinson  and 
Mr.  Wirt,  both  of  whom  were  engaged  in  it.  Mr. 
Webster  opened  the  discussion,  on  behalf  of  the  college. 
A  spectator  describes  the  scene  as  follows.  "  He  opened 
his  cause,  as  he  always  does,  with  perfect  simplicity  in 
the  general  statement  of  its  facts ;  and  then  went  on  to 
unfold  the  topics  of  his  argument,  in  a  lucid  order, 
which  made  each  position  sustain  every  other.  The 
logic  and  the  law  were  rendered  irresistible.  But,  as  he 
advanced;  his  heart  warmed  to  the  subject  and  the  occa- 
sion. Thoughts  and  feelings,  that  had  grown  old  with 
his  best  affections,  rose  unbidden  to  his  lips.  He  re- 
membered that  the  institution  he  was  defending,  was  the 
one  where  his  own  youth  had  been  nurtured ;  and  the 
moral  tenderness  and  beauty  this  gave  to  the  grandeur 
of  his  thoughts;  the  sort  of  religious  sensibility  it  im- 
parted to  his  urgent  appeals  and  demands  for  the  stern 
fulfilment  of  what  law  and  justice  required,  wrought  up 
the  whole  audience  to  an  extraordinary  state  of  excite- 
ment. Many  betrayed  strong  agitation ;  many  were 
dissolved  in  tears.  When  he  ceased  to  speak,  there  was 
a  perceptible  interval  before  any  one  was  willing  to 
break  the  silence  ;  and,  when  that  vast  crowd  separated, 
not  one  person  of  the  whole  number  doubted,  that  the 
man  who  had  that  day  so  moved,  astonished,  and  con- 
trolled them,  had  vindicated  for  himself  a  place  at  the 
side  of  the  first  jurists  of  the  country." 

The  Massachusetts  Reports,  and  the  Reports  in  the 
Circuit  and  Supreme  Courts  of  the  United  States,  show 
that  at  this  period,  Mr.  Webster's  professional  labors  and 
success  were  very  great.  But  his  fame  and  usefulness 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  29 

were  not  confined  to  the  bar.  In  1820-21,  a  convention  of 
delegates  was  assembled  in  Boston,  to  revise  the  consti- 
tution of  Massachusetts.  The  venerable  John  Adams, 
then  eighty-five  years  old,  represented  his  native  vil- 
lage; Justice  Story,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  was  a  delegate  from  Salem;  Judge  Davis,  of  the 
District  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  the  majority  of 
the  judicial  officers  and  most  influential  citizens  of  the 
State  were  there.  It  was  the  most  dignified  and  talented 
assembly  ever  collected  in  New  England,  in  which  Mr. 
Webster  bore  a  distinguished  part.  Of  his  eloquence 
developed  therein,  we  shall  speak  in  the  sequel. 

The  people  of  Boston  repeatedly  urged  that  such 
talents  and  acquirements  as  Mr.  Webster  possessed, 
should  again  be  in  the  service  of  the  whole  country. 
He  had  already  declined  an  offer  of  a  seat  in  the  Senate, 
but,  in  1822,  he  accepted  a  seat  as  their  Representative 
in  Congress.  His  labors  in  the  years  1823-4,  and  his 
great  work  of  digesting  and  causing  to  be  adopted  the 
Crimes  Act  in  1825,  can  now  be  referred  to  only.  In 
1826,  by  a  very  large  majority  of  both  houses  in  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  chosen  to  fill  a  va- 
cancy in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Of  his  career 
in  that  body,  and  of  his  great  diplomatic  services  re- 
cently performed,  it  would  be  superfluous  to  give  details, 
as  they  are  all  before  the  world,  highly  appreciated  and 
everywhere  known.  We  shall  have  occasion  to  recur 
to  several  of  them,  while  we  proceed. 

Fourthly,  to  portray  some  of  the  chief  features  of  Mr. 
Webster's  eloquence.  We  think  that  distinct  percep- 
tion, accurate  combination,  severe  deduction,  and  forci- 


30  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ble  illustration,  are  the  chief  elements  blended  in  his 
composition,  which  we  will  endeavor  to  verify  by 
specific  analysis,  and  pertinent  examples  from  his  social 
addresses,  congressional  speeches,  literary  productions, 
and  forensic  arguments. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  consider  Mr.  Webster's  dis- 
tinctness of  mental  perception.  All  qualities  of  orato- 
rical excellence  concur  in  this  one  elemental  principle, 
as  a  focal-point — clearness  of  insight,  and  facility  of 
execution.  No  excellence  of  finish  can  atone  for  mean- 
ness of  design  ;  and  he  alone  can  conceive  vividly  and 
compose  effectively,  who  sees  thg  whole  of  his  work 
before  him  at  the  beginning.  Mr.  Webster's  mind  is  one 
of  that  rare  class  which  aspires  to  the  serenest  heights, 
expatiates  over  the  widest  and  most  diversified  domain, 
embracing  at  once  the  two  poles  of  human  intelligence, 
imagination  the  most  imperial,  and  science  the  most 
exact.  Of  perhaps  the  greatest  living  French  savan  and 
orator,  whom  our  countryman  in  physical  and  mental 
character  much  resembles,  Vericour  has  said,  "  Unlike 
many  orators  who  will  speak  on  all  subjects,  M.  Arago 
only  speaks  on  subjects  that  he  has  studied — questions 
possessing  either  the  interest  of  political  circumstances, 
or  the  attraction  of  science.  When  he  ascends  the  tri- 
bune, his  noble  figure  and  fine  head  awe  the  assembly 
into  attention.  If  he  confines  himself  to  the  narration 
of  facts,  his  eloquence  has  the  natural  grace  of  simpli- 
city ;  when  face  to  face  with  a  question  of  paramount 
importance  to  the  liberty  of  his  country,  or  with  one  of 
science,  whether  in  the  Chamber  or  in  the  professional 
chair,  he  contemplates  his  subject  with  earnestness, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  31 

unravels  its  subtleties,  and  evinces  a  power  of  com- 
prehension and  elucidation  which  bespeaks  the  superior 
mind;  proceeding,  he  begins  to  employ  a  splendid  phra- 
seology— his  voice  swells — his  style  grows  richer  and 
richer,  and  his  eloquence  rises  to  the  grandeur  of  his 
theme.  M.  Arago's  speeches  have  both  generality  and 
actuality  ;  they  equally  address  themselves  to  the  intel- 
ligence and  passions  of  his  audience;  when  he  enters 
upon  any  question  or  matter,  whether  scientific  or  poli- 
tical, he  clears  it  of  its  difficulties  and  technicalities,  and 
renders  it  so  precise  and  perceptible,  that  the  most  igno- 
rant and  dull  are  enabled  to  comprehend  it.  He  is  one 
of  the  most  luminous  intellects  of  the  age." 

This  strikingly  describes  Mr.  Webster's  mental  struc- 
ture and  habits,  inasmuch  as  sublimity  of  conception, 
grandeur  of  outline,  breadth  of  meaning,  and  a  severe 
classical  tone,  are  the  most  habitual  features  of  his  style, 
always  mighty,  and  often  quite  elegant.  For  instance, 
in  Nov.,  1828,  he  was  called  upon  to  open  the  course  of 
Lectures  before  the  Boston  Mechanics'  Institution,  and 
surprised  all  by  his  profound  knowledge  of  art  the  most 
useful  and  severely  grand : — "  Architecture,  I  have  said, 
is  an  art  that  unites,  in  a  singular  manner,  the  useful 
and  the  beautiful.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  this, 
that  everything  in  architecture  is  beautiful,  or  is  to  be 
so  esteemed,  in  exact  proportion  to  its  apparent  utility. 
No  more  is  meant,  than  that  nothing  which  evidently 
thwarts  utility,  can,  or  ought  to  be  accounted  beautiful ; 
because,  in  every  work  cf  art,  the  design  is  to  be  re- 
garded, and  what  defeats  that  design,  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  well  done.  The  French  rhetoricians  have  a 


32  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

maxim,  that  in  literary  composition,  "  nothing  is  beauti- 
ful which  is  not  true."  They  do  not  intend  to  say,  thai 
strict  and  literal  truth  is  alone  beautiful  in  poetry  or 
oratory  ;  but  they  mean  that  that  which  grossly  offends 
against  probability  is  not  in  good  taste  in  either.  The 
same  relation  subsists  between  beauty  and  utility  in 
architecture,  as  between  truth  and  imagination  in  poetry. 
Utility  is  not  to  be  obviously  sacrificed  to  beauty,  in  the 
one  case  ;  truth  and  probability  are  not  to  be  outraged 
for  the  cause  of  fiction  and  fancy,  in  the  other.  In  the 
severer  styles  of  architecture,  beauty  and  utility  ap- 
proach, so  as  to  be  almost  identical.  Where  utility  is 
more  strongly  than  ordinary  the  main  design,  the  pro- 
portions which  produce  it,  raise  the  sense  or  feeling  of 
beauty,  by  a  sort  of  reflection  or  deduction  of  the  mind. 
It  is  said  that  ancient  Rome  had,  perhaps,  no  finer 'spe- 
cimens of  the  classic  Doric,  than  were  in  the  sewers 
which  ran  under  her  streets,  and  which  were,  of  course, 
always  to  be  covered  from  human  observation  ;  so  true 
is  it,  that  cultivated  taste  is  always  pleased  with  justness 
of  proportion  ;  and  that  design,  seen  to  be  accomplished, 
gives  pleasure.  The  discovery,  and  fast  increasing  use 
of  a  noble  material,  found  in  vast  abundance,  nearer  to 
our  cities  than  the  Pentelican  quarries  to  Athens,  may 
well  awaken,  as  they  do,  new  attention  to  architectural 
improvement.  If  this  material  be  not  entirely  well- 
suited  to  the  elegant  Ionic,  or  the  rich  Corinthian,  it  is 
yet  fitted,  beyond  marble,  beyond  perhaps  almost  any 
other  material,  for  the  Doric,  of  which  the  appropriate 
character  is  strength,  and  for  the  Gothic,  of  which  the 
appropriate  character  is  grandeur. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  33 

"  It  is  not  more  than  justice,  perhaps,  to  our  ances- 
tors, to  call  the  Gothic  the  English  classic  architecture  ; 
for  in  England,  probably,  are  its  most  distinguished  spe- 
cimens. As  its  leading  characteristic  is  grandeur ;  its 
main  use  would  seem  to  be  sacred.  It  had  its  origin, 
indeed,,  in  ecclesiastical  architecture.  Its  evident  design 
was  to  surpass  the  ancient -orders,  by  the  size  of  the 
structure,  and  its  far  greater  heights  ;  to  excite  percep- 
tions of  beauty,  by  the  branching  traceries  and  the  gor- 
geous tabernacles  within ;  and  to  inspire  religious  awe 
and  reverence  by  the  lofty  pointed  arches  ; — the  flying 
buttresses,  the  spires,  and  the  pinnacles,  springing  from 
beneath,  stretching  upwards  towards  the  heavens  with 
the  prayers  of  the  worshippers.  Architectural  beauty 
having  always  a  direct  reference  to  utility,  edifices, 
whether  civil  or  sacred,  must  of  course  undergo  different 
changes,  in  different  places,  on  account  of  climate,  and 
in  different  ages,  on  account  of  the  different  states  of 
other  arts,  or  different  notions  of  convenience.  The 
hypacthral  temple,  for  example,  or  temple  without  a  roof, 
is  not  to  be  thought  of  in  our  latitudes  ;  and  the  use  of 
glass,  a  thing  not  now  to  be  dispensed  with,  is  also  to 
be  accommodated,  as  well  as  it  may  be,  to  the  architec- 
tural structure.  These  necessary  variations,  and  many 
more  admissible  ones,  give  room  for  improvements  to 
an  indefinite  extent,  without  departing  from  the  princi- 
ples of  true  taste.  May  we  not  hope,  then,  to  see  our 
own  city  celebrated  as  the  city  of  architectural  ex- 
cellence. May  we  not  hope  to  see  our  native  granite 
reposing  in  the  ever-during  strength  of  the  Doric,  or 
springing  up  in  the  grand  and  lofty  Gothic,  in  forms 
2* 


34  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

which  beauty  and  utility,  the  eye  and  the  judgment, 
taste  and  devotion,  shall  unite  to  approve  and  to  admire?" 

When  a  public  speaker  is  left  to  choose  his  themes,  he 
will  be  likely  to  select  such  as  are  genial  to  his  own 
taste,  and  analogous  to  the  structure  of  his  intellect. 
The  above  instance  is  an  apt  illustration.  As  in  archi- 
tecture, the  rule  is,  that  the  most  beautiful  should  stand 
on  the  most  firm,  such  seems  to  be  the  law  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster's mind.  We  often  meet  with  works  whose  vigor  of 
execution  can  be  equalled  only  by  their  imbecility  and 
incongruity  of  conception,  but  such  is  not  the  case  with 
the  great  master  now  under  review.  If  we  mistake  not, 
the  most  eminent  of  all  his  qualities  is  a  clear  percep- 
tion of  what  he  would  do,  and  the  best  way  of  doing  it. 
Having  invented  his  stand-point,  he  accurately  estimates 
its  force,  expands  its  power  of  persuasiveness  through 
all  the  projected  argument,  clothes  the  compact  skeleton 
with  the  elasticity  and  symmetrical  charms  of  vigorous 
life,  and  sets  forth  a  perfected  work,  the  organ  of  sub- 
limity, not  less  pleasing  to  the  taste  than  impressive  to 
the  understanding.  His  chief  position,  once  clearly 
perceived,  and  stated  in  the  simplest  and  most  rigid 
terms,  he  thenceforth  becomes  the  efficient  servant  of 
what  he  himself  created  ;  as  Homer,  at  the  very  thresh- 
old of  his  epic,  proclaims  himself  only  the  herald  of  his 
Zeus,  of  whose  almighty  will  he  is  the  free  and  rejoicing 
bard. 

Mr.  Webster  early  won  accuracy  of  view,  and  confi- 
dence of  hand,  by  protracted  and  careful  practice,  so  that 
he  eventually  came  with  great  facility  to  idealize  with 
exactness  and  power.  He  waited  for  the  chance  reve- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  35 

lation  of  no  secret  in  composition,  but  the  secrets  of 
toilsome  meditation  ;  he  employed  no  tricks,  but  abstruse 
investigation  without  limit,  *md  practical  application  of 
his  resources  without  end.  For  the  basis  and  perpetual 
momentum  of  this  excellence,  we  must  revert  to  the 
circumstances  of  his  youth,  and  the  habits  then  formed. 
He  found  beauty  and  strength,  physical  hardihood  and 
mental  acuteness  as  well  as  force,  in  the  stern  visitations 
of  the  wintry  regions  wherein  he  was  born.  His  soul 
was  indeed  ripened  under  that  northern  sky.  The  best 
blood  of  all  lowlands,  at  no  remote  period,  came  from 
higher  regions,  where  the  hardy  and  unvitiated  mountain 
influence  and  elements  for  ever  remain  the  source  of  that 
invincible  strength,  which  bids  defiance  to  all  obstacles, 
and  reduces  to  subjugation  every  antagonist.  There 
the  stupendous  forms  of  creation  are  in  unison  with  the 
swelling  thoughts  of  predestined  artists,  statesmen,  and 
divines,  toiling  in  the  ravines,  scaling  hills,  and  strug- 
gling through  drifting  snows,  to  reach  the  rustic  school ; 
and  at  night  studious  by  the  pine-wood  flame,  while 
tempests  wildly  howl  without.  In  such  regions,  the 
finest  genius  is  produced  and  vigorously  tempered,  like 
the  most  brilliant  gems  in  obscurest  caverns,  and  on 
stormiest  coasts ;  or  rather  like  sweetest  flowers  under 
Alpine  glaciers,  the  more  sensitive  but  enduring  as  the 
cold  is  more  severe.  Intellect,  thus  originating,  is  never 
fatally  chilled,  because  the  latent  spirit  of  enterprise, 
generated  by  salubrious  air,  and  the  inspiration  of  sub- 
lime scenery,  tend  perpetually  to  kindle  the  soul  and 
keep  it  in  a  blaze.  The  mental  eye  is  rendered  piercing 
as  lightning,  and  the  brain,  nvghtily  vitalized,  generates 


36  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

thunders  which  burst  with  simultaneous  peals  and  add 
grandeur  to  every  celestial  stroke. 

To  distinct  perception,  accurate  combination  is  con- 
joined, and  forms  a  bold  feature  in  Mr.  Webster's  mind. 
Some  students  begin  their  career  with  a  theory,  beauti- 
ful, graceful,  yet  indistinct ;  others,  with  one  general  and 
essentially  grand  without  detail,  as  if  attention  to  mi- 
nutiae were  beneath  them ;  and  others  still,  with  an 
ambition  keen,  sagacious,  grappling,  and  on  the  direct 
road  to  sound  acquisitions,  but  lack  perseverance  in  ela- 
borating and  skillfully  combining  their  ideas.  They  ac- 
cumulate copious  materials,  it  may  be,  but  where  is  the 
solid  ground  for  the  machinery  of  Archimedes?  No- 
thing really  powerful  is  produced,  because  there  is  no 
controlling  law  positive,  clear,  and  well-defined.  Gran- 
deur of  style  does  not  consist  in  the  omission  of  all  de- 
tails, but  in  the  wise  selection  and  combination  of  the 
leading  ones.  It  is  only  by  first  ascertaining  particulars 
that  are  pertinent,  that  we  can  discover  essentials  that 
are  effective.  The  union  of  simplicity  and  variety  pro- 
duces harmony  ;  while  confusion  commences  where  a 
due  blending  of  these  is  neglected,  or  either  is  allowed 
too  extravagantly  to  preponderate.  In  the  best  style, 
erudition  and  illustration  are  introduced  only  so  far  as 
they  can  be  made  subservient  to  intrinsic  excellence 
and  lucid  expression.  For  example,  the  writer  or 
speaker  must  obtain  a  perfect  conception  of  a  tree  in  its 
entireness,  before  he  proceeds  to  disentangle  its  branches 
or  byjojish  its  leaves.  To  clear  the  accidental  from  the 
essential,  requires  the  greatest  perspicacity  of  reasoning 
power,  and  the  habit  of  perpetually  recurring  to  t^e 


•    DANIEL     WEBSTER.  37 

first  principles  of  things.  At  every  step  in  the  construc- 
tion of  a  discourse,  knowledge  should  serve  as  the  basis, 
judgment  as  the  guide,  and  cautious  taste  characterize 
the  selection.  In  every  valuable  composition,  unity  is 
the  soul  and  key-note  ;  upon  this  depends  the  effective 
harmony  of  all  subordinate  parts,  as  the  tone  of  the  firs' 
instrument  in  a  concert  tunes  and  governs  all  the  rest 
This  is  well  exemplified  in  Mr.  Webster,  who  never  suffers 
the  blandishments  of  his  rhetoric  to  absorb  important  mean- 
ing, or  supplant  logical  expression  and  exactness  of  form. 
However  succinct  and  rapid  his  argument  may  some- 
times be,  every  word  is  poised  by  characteristic  preci- 
sion, and  can  only  be  the  result  of  deliberate  inquiry 
and  minute  examination.  Every  touch  of  his  clear  and 
concentrated  mind  on  the  leading  points  of  his  subject 
is  a  separate  thought,  each  additional  one  a  brighter  token 
of  extended  genius  and  predestined  triumph. 

"  Artificial  life 
Lives  in  these  touches,  livelier  than  life." 

As  an  example,  take  the  close  of  Mr.  Webster's  ora- 
tion, at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill 
Monument,  June  17,  1825.  "  An  immense  multitude 
was  assembled.  They  stood  on  the  consecrated  spot, 
with  only  the  heavens  over  their  heads,  and  beneath 
their  feet  the  bones  of  their  fathers ;  amidst  the  visible 
remains  of  the  very  redoubt  thrown  up  by  Prescott,  and 
defended  by  him  to  the  very  last  desperate  extremity ; 
and  with  the  names  of  Warren,  Putnam,  Stark,  and 
Brooks,  and  the  other  leaders  or  victims  of  that  great 
day  frequent  &^  familiar  on  their  lips.  In  the  midst  of 


38  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

such  a  scene  and  with  such  recollections,  starting  like 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  from  the  very  sods  of  that  hil\. 
side,  it  may  well  be  imagined,  that  words  like  the  fol- 
lowing, addressed  to  a  vast  audience, — composed  in  no 
small  degree  of  the  survivors  of  the  battle,  their  children 
and  their  grand-children, — produced  an  effect,  which 
only  the  hand  of  death  can  efface."  Said  the  orator : 

"We  know,  indeed,  that  the  record  of  illustrious 
actions  is  most  safely  deposited  in  the  universal  remem- 
brance of  mankind.  We  know,  that  if  we  could  cause 
this  structure  to  ascend,  not  only  till  it  reached  the  skies, 
but  till  it  pierced  them,  its  broad  surfaces  could  still  con- 
tain but  part  of  that  which,  in  an  age  of  knowledge, 
hath  already  been  spread  over  the  earth,  and  which  his- 
tory charges  itself  with  making  known  to  all  future 
times.  We  know,  that  no  inscription  on  entablatures 
less  broad  than  the  «arth  itself,  can  carry  information  of 
the  events  we  commemorate,  where  it  has  not  already 
gone  :  and  that  no  structure,  which  shall  not  outlive  the 
duration  of  letters  and  knowledge  among  men,  can  pro- 
long the  memorial.  But  our  object  is,  by  this  edifice, 
to  show  our  own  deep  sense  of  the  value  and  importance 
of  the  achievements  of  our  ancestors  ;  and,  by  present- 
ing this  work  of  gratitude  to  the  eye,  to  keep  alive  simi 
lar  sentiments,  and  to  foster  a  constant  regard  for  the 
principles  of  the  Revolution.  Human  beings  are  com- 
posed not  of  reason  only,  but  of  imagination  also,  and 
sentiment ;  and  that  is  neither  wasted  nor  misapplied 
which  is  appropriated  to  the  purpose  of  giving  right 
direction  to  sentiments,  and  opening  proper  springs  of 
feeling  in  the  heart.  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  our 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  39 

object  is  to  perpetuate  national  hostility,  or  even  to  cher- 
ish a  mere  military  spirit.  It  is  higher,  purer,  nobler. 
We  consecrate  our  work  to  the  spirit  of  national  inde- 
pendence, and  we  wish  that  the  light  of  peace  may  rest 
upon  it  for  ever.  We  rear  a  memorial  of  our  convic- 
tioa  of  that  unmeasured  benefit,  which  has  been  con- 
ferred on  our  own  land,  and  of  the  happy  influences, 
which  have  been  produced,  by  the  same  events,  on  the 
general  interests  of  mankind.  We  come,  as  Americans, 
to  mark  a  spot,  which  must  for  ever  be  dear  to  us  and 
our  posterity.  We  wish,  that  whosoever,  in  all  coming 
time,  shall  turn  his  eye  hither,  may  behold  that  the  place 
is  not  undistinguished,  where  the  first  great  battle  of 
the  Revolution  was  fought.  We  wish,  that  this  structure 
may  proclaim  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  that  event, 
to  every  class  and  every  age.  We  wish,  that  infancy  may 
learn  the  purpose  of  its  erection  from  maternal  lips,  and 
that  weary  and  withered  age  may  behold  it,  and  be 
solaced  by  the  recollections  which  it  suggests.  We 
wish,  that  labor  may  look  up  here,  and  be  proud,  in  the 
midst  of  its  toil.  We  wish,  that,  in  those  days  of  dis- 
aster, which,  as  they  come  on  all  nations,  must  be  ex- 
pected to  come  on  us  also,  desponding  patriotism  may 
turn  its  eyes  hitherward,  and  be  assured  that  the  founda- 
tions of  our  national  power  still  stand  strong.  We  wish, 
that  this  column,  rising  towards  heaven  among  the 
pointed  spires  of  so  many  temples  dedicated  to  God, 
may,  contribute  also  to  produce,  in  all  minds,  a  pious 
feeling  of  dependence  and  gratitude.  We  wish,  finally, 
that  the  last  object  on  the  sight  of  him  who  leaves  his 
native  shore,  and  the  first  to  gladden  his  who  revisits  it, 


40  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

may  be  something  which  may  remind  him  of  the  liberty 
and  glory  of  his  country.  Let  it  rise,  till  it  meet  the 
sun  in  his  coming ;  let  the  earliest  light  of  the  morning 
gild  it,  and  parting  day  linger  and  play  on  its  summit." 
To  distinct  perception,  and  accurate  combination,  we 
mention,  thirdly,  severe  deduction,  as  the  most  promi- 
nent trait  in  Mr.  Webster's  oratorical  character. 
That  speaker  will  succeed  most  triumphantly,  or  fail 
with  greatest  dignity,  who  presents  the  principal  feature 
of  his  subject  in  the  boldest  manner,  to  the  neglect  of  all 
subordinates,  rather  than  he  who  fritters  away  all  his 
talent  upon  secondary  topics,  and  retains  little  or  no 
capacity  to  execute  the  chief.  Mr.  Webster  has  pro- 
duced great  excellence  in  every  department  of  elaborate 
composition  ;  but  the  highest  order  of  logical  compact- 
ness in  forensic  warfare  alone  unites  his  various 
energies  in  a  glorious  aggregate ;  as  the  grace  of 
Nireus,  the  dignity  of  Agamemnon,  the  impetuosity  of 
Hector,  the  magnitude  of  the  great,  the  furiousness  of 
the  lesser  Ajax,  the  perseverance  of  Ulysses,  and  the 
intrepidity  of  Diomede,  are  the  emanations  of  the  same 
transcendant  intellect,  which  in  the  single  person  of 
Achilles,  find  their  splendid  centre  and  perfect  embodi- 
ment. He  has  written  occasional  orations  of  the  highest 
merit,  but  which  seem  to  have  been  regarded  by  their 
author  as  unworthy  of  the  severer  exercise  of  his 
faculties ;  like  the  great  -secretary  and  patriot  under 
Cromwell,  who,  having  thrown  on  the  world  the  mas- 
terly production  of  the  greatest  genius,  continued  his 
labors,  as  if  he  had  given  nothing  to  mankind — as  if 


DA  MEL    WEBSTER  41 

Paradise  Lost  was  a  forgotten  pamphlet,  about  which 
neither  he  nor  any  one  else  need  to  care. 

Mr.  Webster's  eloquence  we  regard  as  epic  in  charac 
ter,  rather  than  dramatic,  lyrical,  or  historical.  It  is  thai 
kind  which  relates  to  those  high  and  abstract  principles 
which  elevate  our  nature  in  thought  or  moral  action 
and  which  are  allied  to  any  power,  natural  or  super-na 
tural,  of  elemental  or  political  revolution,  the  absolute 
resistance  of  which  is  impossible.  The  highest  range 
which  this,  the  first  order  of  the  sublime  in  speech  ever 
assumes,  is  when  the  mind,  soaring  above  the  entangle- 
ments of  earth,  and  vicissitudes  of  time,  defies  the  de- 
struction of  both,  impelled  by  some  all-absorbing  affec- 
tion, noble  sentiment,  grand  public  benefit,  or  great 
moral  principle.  Such  sublimity  is  something  inde- 
pendent of  material  elements  ;  it  is  a  glory  that  will  sur- 
vive when  these  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  and  will 
light  the  firmament  when  the  sun  is  shrouded  in  sack- 
cloth of  hair. 

u  His  thoughts  all  great  and  Solemn  and  serene, 
Like  the  immensest  features  of  an  orb, 
Whose  eyes  are  blue  seas,  and  whose  clear  broad  brow 
Some  cultured  continent,  come  ever  round 
From  truth  to  truth— day  bringing  as  they  come." 

He  who  perceives  beautiful  and  majestic  thought  as 
an  actual  substance,  and  zealously  embodies  what  he 
sees  in  clear  and  substantial  language,  will  naturally  be- 
come the  most  forcible  and  enduring  orator.  A  firm 
and  distinct  outline  is  an  invariable  characteristic  of  all 
good  composition,  and  he  who  can  best  command  this, 
will  be  sure  to  express  his  ideas  with  most  correctness. 


42  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

pleasure  and  energy.  The  greatest  merit  lies  not  in  the 
elaborate  finish  of  minute,  details,  but  in  that  enlarged 
comprehension  which  contemplates  the  whole  extent 
and  bearings  of  a  subject  at  the  outset,  combined  with  a 
facility  of  execution  which  boldly  stamps  a  definite  and 
adequate  expression  on  every  part.  As  a  deep  know- 
ledge  of  the  human  form  is  the  basis  of  the  knowledge 
of  all  other  forms,  and  the  capacity  to  draw  the  hu- 
man frame  accurately  the  foundation  of  the  highest 
practical  skill  in  every  department  of  artistic  excellence ; 
so  is  a  critical  understanding  of  human  language  in  its 
philosophical  elements  and  dextrous  combinations,  a  de- 
partment of  the  noblest  study,  and  source  of  the  greatest 
power.  Michael  A.nge\o  spent  twelve  years  in  dissect- 
ing, that  he  might  worthily  express  the  material  features 
of  man ;  Daniel  Webster  has  spent  a  whole  life  in  the 
most  earnest  analysis  of  language  that  he  might  more 
effectively  express  the  fairest  and  boldest  features  of 
eloquence,  and  long  since  attained  a  wonderful  capacity 
for  embodying  ideas  the  most  rich  and  glowing  in  forms 
of  sculpturesque  severity.  He  was  evidently  born  to 
give  the  world  more  enlarged  and  exalted  conceptions, 

"  And  uttered  in  a  sound  and  homely  tongue, 
Fit  to  be  used  by  all  who  think  while  speaking." 

,  Longinus  believed  that  the  sublime,  as  it  is  the  highest 
excellence  to  which  human  composition  can  attain, 
abundantly  compensates  the  absence  of  every  other 
beauty;  According  to  this  rule,  Mr.  Webster  never 
seeks  the  aid  of  meretricious  ornaments,  however  ele- 
gant or  graceful,  but  binds  the  language  he  employs 


DANIEL    WEBSTEB.  43 

strictly  within  the  logical  confines  of  the  propositions 
he  would  demonstrate.  He  preserves  a  senatorial  dig- 
nity throughout,  and  is  by  nature  and  education  an 
orator  unrivalled  in  the  skill  of  unravelling  subtleties, 
and  of  wielding  the  weapons  of  searching  and  inexorable 
dialectics.  He  uses  words  as  the  means,  not  as  the  end  ; 
language  in  his  hands  is  the  instrument,  conviction  is 
the  work.  No  one  can  doubt  the  copiousness  of  his 
mental  resources;  but  he  deals  out  his  abundance  with 
a  steady  and  cautious  hand,  with  that  wise  reserve  which 
is  not  ambitious  to  display  either  its  wealth  or  its  art. 
His  own  mental  character  and  habits  as  an  orator  are 
best  described  in  his  own  well-known  language  applied 
to  another.  Said  he  : 

.  "  The  eloquence  of  Mr.  Adams  resembled  his  general 
character,  and  formed,  indeed,  a  part  of  it.  It  was  bold, 
manly,  and  energetic ;  and  such  the  crisis  required. 
When  public  bodies  are  to  be  addressed  on  momentous 
occasions,  \vhen  great  interests  are  at  stake,  and  strong 
passions  excited,  nothing  is  valuable,  in  speech,  farther 
than  it  is  connected  with  high  intellectual  and  moral 
endowments.  Clearness,  force,  and  earnestness,  are  the 
qualities  which  produce  conviction.  True  eloquence, 
indeed,  does  not  consist  in  speech.  It  cannot  be  brought 
from  far.  Labor  and  learning  may  toil  for  it,  but  they 
will  toil  in  vain.  Words  and  phrases  may  be  marshalled 
in  every  way,  but  they  cannot  compass  it.  It  must  exist 
in  the  man,  in  the  subject,  and  in  the  occasion.  Af- 
fected passion,  intense  expression,  the  pomp  of  declama- 
tion, all  may  aspire  after  it,  they  cannot  reach  't.  It 
comes,  if  it  come  at  all,  like  the  outbreaking  of  a  fountain 


44  DIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

from  the  earth,  or  the  bursting  forth  of  volcanic  fires, 
with  spontaneous,  original,  native  force.  The  graces 
taught  in  the  schools,  the  costly  ornaments,  and  studied 
contrivances  of  speech,  shock  and  disgust  men,  when 
their  own  lives,  and  the  fate  of  their  wives,  their  chil- 
dren, and  their  country,  hang  on  the  decision  of  the 
hour.  Then  words  have  lost  their  power,  rhetoric  is 
vain,  and  all  elaborate  oratory  contemptible.  Even 
genius  itself  then  feels  rebuked  and  subdued,  as  in  the 
presence  of  higher  qualities.  Then,  patriotism  is  elo- 
quent ;  then  self-devotion  is  eloquent.  The  clear  con- 
ception, out-running  the  deductions  of  logic,  the  high 
purpose,  the  firm  resolve,  the  dauntless  spirit,  speaking 
on  the  tongue,  beaming  from  the  eye,  informing  every 
feature,  and  urging  the  whole  man  onward,  right  onward 
to  his  object, — this,  this  is  eloquence ;  or  rather  it  is 
something  greater  and  higher  than  eloquence,  it  is 
action,  noble,  sublime,  god-like  action." 

This  clearness,  freshness,  and  force,  which  Mr.  Web- 
ster so  much  valued,  he  had  acquired  by  a  perpetual  and 
profound  study  of  simplicity;  knowing  that  this  one 
element,  when  pure,  is  better  than  a  mixture  of  many 
of  a  gaudier  tone.  The  highest  merit  of  the  best  ora- 
tions consists  mainly  in  a  perfection  of  the  whole,  re- 
sulting from  the  just  proportion  of  the  several  component 
parts.  The  longer  we  study  such  masterpieces,  the 
more  admirable  traits  we  discover  in  them  to  admire  ; 
as  the  enthusiastic  antiquary  exhumes  a  Phidian  statue, 
and  traces  images  of  Olympian  athlete  thereon.  In 
order  to  attain  a  general  effect  of  grandeur,  all  trifling 
adjuncts  must  be  avoided,  so  that  the  central  idea  may 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  45 

preponderate  throughout,  and  cause  an  air  of  simple 
dignity  to  prevail  over  all  the  parts,  "  As  the  snow- 
headed  mountain  rises  o'er  the  lightning,  and  applies 
itself  to  heaven."  This  unity  of  purpose,  subordinating 
infinite  diversity  to  its  particular  aim,  and  urging  for- 
ward all  its  auxiliaries  to  the  execution  of  a  single  grand 
design,  ordinarily  produces  the  majestic  oneness  of  a 
shared  passion  in  the  audience  subjected  to  its  force. 
They  are  all  filled  with  one  thought,  captured  and  im- 
pelled by  one  potent  influence,  as  innumerable  billows 
of  the  ocean  roll,  and  myriad  sons  of  the  forest  bend 
before  the  same  breath  of  omnipotence. 

We  have  quoted  Mr.  Webster's  definition  of  elo- 
quence, and  will  here  present  an  illustration  of  his  own 
rule,  from  the  famous  debate  on  the  resolution  offered  by 
Mr.  Foote,  in  the  Senate,  on  the  29th  of  December, 
1829?  as  follows: 

"  Resolved, — That  the  committee  on  Public  Lands  be 
instructed  to  inquire  and  report  the  quantity  of  public 
lands  remaining  unsold  within  each  State  and  Terri- 
tory. And  whether  it  be  expedient  to  limit,  for  a 
certain  period,  the  sales  of  the  public  lands  to  such 
lands  only  as  have  heretofore  been  offered  for  sale,  and 
are  now  subject  to  entry  at  the  minimum  price.  And, 
also,  whether  the  offices  of  Surveyor  General,  and  some 
of  the  land  offices,  may  not  be  abolished  without  detri 
mfnt  to' the  public  interest  ;  or  whether  it  be  expedient 
to  adopt  measures  to  hasten  the  sales,  and  extend 
more  rapidly  the  surveys  of  the  public  lands." 

On  the  18th  of  January,  Mr.  Benton,  of  Missouri, 
addressed  the  Senate ;  and  on  th«  19th,JMr.  Hayne,  of 


46  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA 

South  Carolina,  proceeded  in  the  debate,  and  spoke  at 
considerable  length.  After  he  had  concluded,  Mr. 
Webster  rose  to  reply,  but  gave  way,  on  the  motion  of 
Mr.  Benton  for  an  adjournment.  When  the  doors  of 
the  Senate-chamber  were  opened  on  the  morning  of  the 
20th,  says  a  spectator,  "  The  rush  for  admittance  was 
unprecedented.  Mr.  Webster  had  the  floor,  and  rose. 
The  first  division  of  his  speech  is  in  reply  to  parts  and 
details  of  his  adversary's  personal  assault, — and  is  a 
happy,  though  severe  specimen  of  the  keenest  spirit  of 
genuine  debate  and  retort ;  for  Mr.  Webster  is  one  of 
those  dangerous  adversaries,  who  are  never  so  formida- 
ble or  so  brilliant,  as  when  they  are  most  rudely  pressed ; 
— for  then,  as  in  the  phosphorescence  of  the  ocean,  the 
degree  of  the  violence  urged,  may  always  be  taken  as  the 
measure  of  the  brightness  that  is  to  follow.  On  the  pre- 
sent occasion,  his  manner  was  cool,  entirely  self-possess- 
ed, and  perfectly  decided,  and  carried  his  irony  as  far  as 
irony  can  go.  There  are  portions  of  this  first  day's  dis- 
cussion, like  the  passage  relating  to  the  charge  of  sleeping 
on  the  speech,  he  had  answered  ;  the  one  in  allusion  to 
Banquo's  ghost,  which  had  been  unhappily  conjured  up 
by  his  adversary;  and  the  rejoinder  respecting  "one 
Nathan  Dane,  of  Beverly,  in  Massachusetts," — which 
will  not  be  forgotten.  The  very  tones  in  which  they 
were  uttered,  still  vibrate  in  the  ears  of  those  who  heard 
them.  There  are,  also,  other  and  graver  portions  of  it, 
—like  those  which  respect  the  course  of  legislation  in 
regard  to  the  new  States  ;  the  conduct  of  the  North  in 
regard  to  slavery,  and  the  doctrine  of  internal  improve- 
ments,—which  are  in  the  most  powerful  style  of  parlia- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  47 

mentary  debate.  As  he  approaches  the  conclusion 
of  this  first  great  division  of  his  speech,  he  rises  to  the 
loftiest  tone  of  national  feeling,  entirely  above  the  dim, 
misty  region  of  sectional  or  party  passion  and  preju- 
dice : 

"  The  eulogium  pronounced  on  the  character  of  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  by  the  honorable  gentleman,  for 
her  revolutionary  and  other  merits,  meets  my  hearty  con- 
currence. I  shall  not  acknowledge  that  the  honorable 
member  goes  before  me  in  regard  for  whatever  of  dis- 
tinguished talent,  or  distinguished  character,  South 
Carolina  has  produced.  I  claim  part  of  the  honor,  I 
partake  in  the  pride,  of  her  great  names.  I  claim  them 
for  my  countrymen,  one  and  all.  The  Laurenses,  the 
Rutledges,  the  Pinckneys,  the  Sumpters,  the  Marions — 
Americans,  all — whose  fame  is  no  more  to  be  hemmed 
in  by  State  lines,  than  their  talents  and  patriotism  were 
capable  of  being  circumscribed  within  the  same  narrow 
limits.  In  their  day  and  generation,  they  served  and 
honored  the  country,  and  the  whole  country ;  and  their 
renown  is  of  the  treasures  of  the  whole  country.  Him, 
whose  honored  name  the  gentleman  himself  bears — does 
he  esteem  me  less  capable  of  gratitude  for  his  patriot- 
ism, or  sympathy  for  his  sufferings,  than  if  his  eyes  had 
first  opened  upon  the  light  of  Massachusetts,  instead  of 
South  Carolina  ?  Sir,  does  he  suppose  it  in  his  power 
to  exhibit  a  Carolina  name,  so  bright,  as  to  produce 
envy  in  my  bosom  ?  No,  Sir,  increased  gratification 
and  delight,  rather.  I  thank  God,  that,  if  I  am  gifted 
with  little  of  the  spirit  which  is  able  to  raise  mortals  to 
the  skies,  I  have  yet  none,  as  1  trust,  of  that  other  spirit, 


48  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

which  would  drag  angels  down.  When  I  shall  be 
found,  Sir,  in  my  place  here,  in  the  Senate,  or  else- 
where, to  sneer  at  public  merit,  because  it  happens  to 
spring  up  beyond  the  little  limits  of  my  own  State,  or 
neighborhood;  when  I  refuse  for  any  such  cause,  or  for 
any  cause,  the  homage  due  to  American  talent,  to  ele- 
vated patriotism,  to  sincere  devotion  to  liberty  and  the 
country ;  or,  if  I  see  an  uncommon  endowment  of 
Heaven — if  I  see  extraordinary  capacity  and  virtue 
in  any  son  of  the  South — and  if,  moved  by  local  preju- 
dice, or  gangrened  by  State  jealousy,  I  get  up  here  to 
abate  the  tithe  of  a  hair  from  his  just  character  and  just 
fame,  may  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  ! 
"  Sir,  let  me  recur  to  pleasing  recollections — let  me 
indulge  in  refreshing  remembrance  of  the  past — let  me 
remind  you  that  in  early  times,  no  States  cherished 
greater  harmony,  both  of  principle  and  feeling,  than  Mas- 
sachusetts and  South  Carolina.  Would  to  God  that 
harmony  might  again  return !  Shoulder  to  shoulder 
they  went  through  the  Revolution — hand  in  hand  they 
stood  round  the  administration  of  Washington,  and  felt 
his  own  great  arm  lean  on  them  for  support.  Unkind 
feeling,  if  it  exist,  alienation  and  distrust,  are  the  growth, 
unnatural  to  such  soils,  of  false  principles  since  sown. 
They  are  weeds,  the  seeds  of  which  that  same  great 
•arm  never  scattered. 

"  Mr.  President,  I  shall  enter  on  no  encomium  upon 
Massachusetts — she  needs  none.  There  she  is— behold 
icr  and  judge  for  yourselves.  There  is  her  history :  the 
ivorld  knows  it  by  heart.  The  past,  at  least,  is  secure. 
There  is  Boston,  and  Concord,  and  Lexington,  and 


.DANIEL    WEBSTER.  49 

Bunker  Hill — and  there  they  will  remain  for  ever.  The 
bones  of  her  sons,  falling  in  the  great  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence, now  lie  mingled  with  the  soil  of  every  State, 
from  New  England  to  Georgia ;  and  there  they  will  lie  for 
ever.  And,  Sir,  where  American  liberty  raised  its  first 
voice  ;  and  where  its  youth  was  nurtured  and  sustained, 
there  it  still  lives,  in  the  strength  of  its  manhood,  and 
full  of  its  original  spirit.  If  discord  and  disunion  shall 
wound  it — if  party  strife  and  blind  ambition  shall  hawk 
at  and  tear  it — if  folly  and  madness — if  uneasiness, 
under  salutary  and  necessary  restraint — shall  succeed 
to  separate  it  from  that  union,  by  which  alone  its  exist- 
ence is  made  sure,  it  will  stand,  in  the  end,  by  the  side 
of  that  cradle  in  which  its  infancy  was  rocked  ;  it  will 
stretch  forth  its  arm  with  whatever  of  vigor  it  may  still 
retain,  over  the  friends  who  gather  round  it ;  and  it  will 
fall  at  last,  if  fall  it  must,  amidst  the  proudest  monu- 
ments of  its  own  glory,  and  on  the  very  spot  of  its 
origin." 

We  have  endeavored  to  describe  and  exemplify  from 
his  own  productions,  the  distinct  perception,  accurate 
combination,  and  severe  deduction,  which  so  palpably 
characterize  the  oratory  of  Mr.  Webster.  We  now 
come  to  speak  of  the  forcible  illustration  he  so  frequently 
employs. 

The  best  works  in  the  world"  are  those  wherein  rugged 
vitality  and  ideal  beauty  are  most  harmoniously  com- 
bined. The  true  master  can  infuse  his  sensibility  to 
beauty  into  reposing  and  simple  subjects,  as  well  as 
manifest  the  highest  energy  and  worth  in  a  more  exalted 
range,  and  knows  how  in  every  department  he  culti- 
3 


50  LIVING     ORATOES    IN    AMERICA. 

vates,  to  temper  and  control  the  passionate  outbreak  ol 
impulsive  feelings.  Without  this  perpetual  sovereignty 
of  reason,  public  speech  sinks  to  empty  declamation, 
and  is  "  a  tale  told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and  fury, 
signifying  nothing."  Whenever  the  verbiage  of  a  work 
obscures  the  subject  by  its  opaqueness,  or  absorbs  it  in 
its  splendor,  the  result  is  degraded  to  an  inferior  rank. 
Mr.  Webster  seldom  or  never  falls  into  this  fault,  but 
preserves  the  golden  mean  between  inert  solidity  and 
senseless  inflation.  The  decided  bias  of  his  great  latent 
power  is  to  create  excellence  in  majestic  shapes,  trat 
these  are  imbued  with  flexible  energy  and  not  the  apathy 
of  impotence.  Reason  and  imagination  dwell  in  his 
mind,  and  characterize  its  soarings,  "  like  to  a  pair  of 
eagles  in  one  nest."  His  reason,  obeying  only  its  own 
iron  force,  seems  reckless  of  every  obstacle,  and  shining 
through  a  medium  translucent  as  light,  yet  invincible  as 
the  avalanche,  is  destined,  we  believe,  as  long  as  the 
English  language  endures,  to  subsist  unimpaired  in  the 
creations  of  its  native  grandeur,  "  as  the  changeless  sea, 
rolling  the  same  in  every  age  as  now."  Observe  that 
bis  imagination  is  something  more  powerful  as  well  as 
more  glorious,  than  the  mere  prettiness  of  puerile  fancy; 
it  is  elementary  fire,  half  rejoicing  in  its  own  permeating 
and  purifying  flames,  creative  of  sublimity  the  most  ex- 
alted, and  superbly  decorative  of  the  worlds  it  has 
formed.  The  coalition  of  these  two  extraordinary  attri- 
butes produces  superlative  completeness  in  oratorical 
po\ver ;  that  unity  which  is  essential  to  the  most  endur- 
ing excellence,  its  basis  and  crowning  charm,  and  is 
symbolized,  not  by  the  butterfly  fluttering  round  a  cot- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER. 


51 


tage  garden,  but  the  eagle  soaring  above  mountains  and 
•erenely  basking  in  the  sun. 

"  Who  can  mistake  great  thoughts  ? 
rhey  seize  upon  the  mind-arrest,  and  search, 
And  shake  it-bow  the  tall  soul  as  by  wind- 
Rush  over  it  like  rivers  over  reeds, 
Which  quaver  in  the  current-turn  us  cold, 
And  pale,  and  voiceless  ;  leaving  in  the  brain. 
A  rocking  and  a  ringing." 

As  the  best  illustration  of  our  remarks  on  Mr  Web- 
*ters  Pagination,  we  subjoin  his  thrilling  apostrophe  to 
Warren  on  Bunker  Hill.     It  is  the  more'remarkab.e  £ 
,on  arnmg  a  grammatical  inaccuracy,  produced  by  pass- 
ng  from  the  third  person  ,o  «he  second  in  the  same  sen- 
ence,  and  „  at  once  the  most  natural  consequence  of 
transcendent  ardor  and  the  most  unequivocal  proof  of 
unpremeduated  excellence.     When  the  sentence  com- 
»enced     «But,-ah,-him,"  it  wag  evidently  in   L 
mmd  of  the  orator,  to  end  by  saying,  ,  how  sha".  I  com? 
memorate  h,m  ?      But  in  the  fmgna  Q{  ^  s 

unconsc,ous  of  the  words,  but  inflamed  with  the  thought- 
beholdmg  as  he  stood  near  the  spot  where  the  hero  fell 


the   fT.     "I   ,eaUlifUl  imSge  risin^  "P  *<**  Beneath 


fi        ,  s  c«      »d 

the  fire  of  hberty  in  his  eye,-the  blood  of  his  gallant 
heart  st.H  pouring  from  his  wound,"-,he  vividness  of 
h.s  imagination  and  the  fervor  of  his  patriotic  sensibility 
>  onger  permit  the  rap.  orator  to  speak  0/him;  he 
must  speak  to  hun.  Thenceforth  he  attempts  not  to  tell 
tu»  aud.ence  what  Warren  was,  but  seeing  the  martyr- 


52  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

patriot  before  him,  on  the  spot  where  he  perished,  he 
portrays  what  immortal  worth  is.  But  the  whole  pas- 
sage should  be  quoted  : — 

"  Venerable  men !  You  have  come  down  to  us  from 
a  former  generation.  Heaven  has  bounteously  length- 
ened out  your  lives,  that  you  may  behold  this  joyous 
day.  You  are  now,  where  you  stood  fifty  years  ago, 
this  very  hour,  with  your  brothers  and  your  neighbors, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  the  strife  for  your  country.  Be- 
hold, how  altered !  The  same  heavens  are  indeed  over 
your  head ;  the  same  ocean  rolls  at  your  feet ;  but  all 
else,  how  changed !  You  hear  now  no  roar  of  hostile 
cannon.  You  see  no  mixed  volumes  of  smoke  and 
flame  rising  from  burning  Charlestown.  The  ground 
strewed  with  the  dead  and  dying;  the  impetuous 
charge ;  the  steady  and  successful  repulse  ;  the  loud  call 
to  repeated  assault ;  the  summoning  of  all  that  is  manly 
to  repeated  resistance;  a  thousand  bosoms  freely  and 
fearlessly  bared  in  an  instant  to  whatever  of  terror  there 
may  be  in  war  and  death ; — all  these  you  have  witnessed, 
but  you  witness  them  no  more.  All  is  peace.  The 
heights  of  yonder  metropolis,  its  towers  and  roofs,  which 
you  then  saw  filled  with  wives  and  children,  and  country- 
men in  distress  and  terror,  and  looking  with  unutterable 
emotions  for  the  issue  of  the  combat,  have  presented 
you  to-day  with  the  sight  of  its  whole  happy  population, 
come  out  to  welcome  and  greet  you,  with  an  universal 
jubilee.  Yonder  proud  ships,  by  a  felicity  of  position, 
appropriately  lying  at  the  foot  of  this  mourtf,  and  seem- 
ing fondly  to  cling  around  it,  are  not  means  of  annoy- 
ance to  you,  but  your  country's  own  means  of  distinc- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  53 

tion  and  defence.     All  is  peace  ;  and  God  has  granted 
you  this  sight   of  your  country's   happiness,   ere  you 
slumber  in  the  grave  forever.     He  has  allowed  you  to 
>ehold  and  to  partake  the  reward  of  your  patriotic  toils  - 
I  he  has  allowed  us,  your  sons  and  countrymen  to 
et  you  here,  and  in  the  name  of  the  present  genera- 
ion,  in  the  name  of  your  country,  in  the  name  of  liberty, 
to  thank  you ! 

"  But,  alas,  you  are  not  all  here  !    Time  and  the  sword 
have  thinned  your   ranks.      Prescott,  Putnam,    Stark 
Brooks,  Read,  Pomeroy,  Bridge  !   Our  eyes  seek  for  you 
m  vain  amidst  this  broken  band.     You  are  gathered  to 
your  fathers,  and  live  only  to  your  country  in  her  grate- 
il  remembrance,  and  your  own  bright  example.     But 
•t  us  not  too  much  grieve,  that  you  have  met  the  com- 
mon fate  of  men.     You  lived,  at  least  long  enough  to 
now  that  your  work  had  been  nobly  and  successfully 
comphshed.     You  lived  to  see  your  country's  inde- 
ndence  established,  and  to  sheathe  your  swords  from 
On  the  light  of  Liberty  you  saw  arise  the  light  of 


Peace,  like 


another  morn, 
Risen  on  mid-noon;' — 


and   the   sky   on    which   you  closed    your  eyes    was 
cloudless.    * 

"But-ah!-Him  !  the  first  great  Martyr  in  this  great 

Him  !  the  premature  victim  of  his  own  self. 

devoting  heart!     Him  !  the  head  of  our  civil  councils 

and   the  destined  leader  of  our  military  bands ;  whom 

nothing  brought  hither,  but  the  unquenchable  fire  of  his 


54  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA; 

own  spirit;  Him!  cut  off  by  Providence,  in  the  hour  of 
overwhelming  anxiety  and  thick  gloom  ;  falling  ere  he  saw 
the  star  of  his  country  rise  ;  pouring  out  his  generous 
blood,  like  water,  before  he  knew  whether  it  would  fer- 
tilize a  land  of  freedom  or  of  bondage  !  how  shall  I 
struggle  with  the  emotions,  that  stifle  the  utterance  of 
thy  name  ! — Our  poor  work  may  perish  ;  but  thine  shall 
endure !  This  monument  may  moulder  away  ;  the  solid 
ground  it  rests  upon  may -sink  down  to  a  level  with  the 
sea;  but  thy  memory  shall  not  fail!  Wheresoever 
among  men  a  heart  shall  be  found,  that  beats  to  the 
transports  of  patriotism  and  liberty,  its  aspirations  shall 
be  to  claim  kindred  with  thy  spirit!" 

This  patriotic  ardor,  as  Mr.  Whipple  finely  remarks, 
has  given  intensity  to  the  purposes  of  the  great  states- 
man of  New  England,  and  lent  the  richest  glow  to  "his 
genius.  "  It  has  made  his  eloquence  a  language  of  the 
heart ;  felt  and  understood  over  every  portion  of  the 
land  it  consecrates.  On  Plymouth  Rock,  on  Bunker 
Hill,  at  Mount  Vernon,  by  the  tombs  of  Hamilton,  and 
Adams,  and  Jefferson,  and  Jay,  we  are  reminded  of 
Daniel  Webster.  He  has  done  what  no  national  poet 
has  yet  succeeded  in  doing, — associated  his  own  great 
genius  with  all  in  our  country's,  history  and  scenery, 
which  makes  us  rejoice  that  we  are  Americans.  He  has 
made  the  dead  past  a  living  present.  Over  all  those 
events  in  our  history  which  are  heroical,  he  has  cast  the 
hue.s  of  strong  feeling  and  vivid  imagination.  He  can- 
not stand  on  one  spot  of  ground,  hallovv.e.d  by  liberty 
or  religion,  without  being  kindled  by  the  genius  of 
tne  place;  he  cannot  mention  a  name,  consecrated  by 

-    '    *        \^^ **  •     .  .  *  * 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  55 

self-devotion  and  patriotism,  without  doing  it  eloquent 
homage.  Seeing  clearly,  and  feeling  deeply,  he  makes 
us  see  and  feel  with  him. 

"  That  scene  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  in  which 
his  imagination  conjures  up  the  forms  and  emotions  of 
our  New  England  ancestry,  will  ever  live  in  the  national 
memory.  We  see  with  him,  the  '  little,  bark  with  the 
interesting  group  on  its  deck,  make  its  slow  progress  to 
the  shore.'  We  feel,  with  him,  'the  cold  which  be- 
numbed/ and  listen  \vith  him,  '  to  the  winds  which 
pierced  them.'  Carver,  and  Bradford,  and  Standish,  and 
Brewster,  and  Allerton,  look  out  upon  us  from  the  pic- 
tured page,  in  all  the  dignity  with  which  virtue  and  free- 
dom invest  their  martyrs ;  and  we  see,  too,  '  chilled  and 
shivering  childhood,  houseless  but  for  a  mother's  arms, 
couchless  but  for  a  mother's  breast,  till  our  own  blood 
almost  freezes.' 

"The  readiness  with  which  the  orator  compels  our 
sympathies  to  follow  his  own,  is  again  illustrated  in  the 
orations  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  in  the  discourse  in  honor 
of  Adams  and  Jefferson.  In  reading  them,  we  feel 
proud  of  our  country,  and  of  the  great  men  and  great 
principles  it  has  cherished.  The  mind  feels  an  unwont- 
ed elevation,  and  the  heart  is  stirred  with  emotions  of 
more  than  common  depth,  by  their  majesty  and  power. 
Some  passages  are  so  graphic  and  true,  that  they  seem 
gifted  with  a  voice,  and  to  speak  to  us  from  the  page 
they  illumine.  The  intensity  of  feeling  with  which  they 
are  pervaded,  rises  at  times  with  confident  hope  to 
prophecy,  and  lifts  the  soul  as  with  wings.  In  that  splen- 
did close  to  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  oration  on 


56  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Adams  and  Jefferson,  what  American  does  not  feel  as- 
sured, with  the  orator,  that  their  fame  will  be  immortal  ?" 
"  Although  no  sculptured  marble  should  rise  to  their 
memory,  nor  engraved  stone  bear  record  of  their  deeds, 
yet  will  their  remembrance  be  as  lasting  as  the  land 
they  honored.  Marble  columns  may,  indeed,  moulder 
into  dust,  time  may  erase  all  impress  from  the  crumbling 
stone,  but  their  fame  remains  ;  for  with  AMERICAN  LIB- 
ERTY it  rose,  and  with  AMERICAN  LIBERTY  ONLY  can  it  per- 
ish. It  was  the  last  swelling  peal  of  yonder  choir,  '  THEIR 

BODIES  ARE  BURIED  IN  PEACE,  BUT  THEIR  NAME  LIVETH  EVER- 
MORE.' I  catch  that  solemn  song,  I  echo  that  lofty  strain 
of  funeral  triumph, '  THEIR  NAME  LIVETH  EVERMORE.'" 

In  reviewing  the  mental  traits  and  oratorical  produc- 
tions of  Mr.  Webster,  we  think  that  in  his  eloquence 
there  are  three  distinct  styles, — the  narrative,  the  sena- 
torial, and  the  impassioned.  The  first  is  a  slow,  delibe- 
rate manner,  employed  in  stating  simple  facts,  or  plain 
argument ;  like  an  admirable  reader,  distinct  and  forcible, 
but  with  no  display  of  excited  elocution.  This  is  ex- 
ceedingly beautiful,  because  it  is  the  nearest  approach  to 
sublimity  of  character,  expressed  in  pure  form,  independ- 
ent of  all  passion  or  emotion.  "Slow  seems  their  speed 
whose  thoughts  before  them  run." 

His  second  style,  is  when  he  is  interested  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  some  important  subject,  in  the  forum  of  high 
debate,  where  by  the  action  of  his  own  aroused  mind 
in  conflict  with  powerful  antagonists,  he  has  become 
warmed  and  animated.  His  elocution  as  well  as  his 
reasoning  then  is  often  magnificent,  presenting  alto- 
gether his  best  and  most  powerful  manner.  Under 


DANIEL   WEBSTER.  57 

ordinary  circumstances,  Mr.  Webster  may  truly  say, 
"My  mind  my  kingdom  is,"  and  to  the  most  casual  eye, 
he  seems  born  "  to  set  a  throne  or  chair  of  state  in  the 
understandings  of  other  men."  But  when  popular  pas- 
sions are  furiously  aroused,  and  the  bravest  champions 
tremble  before  the  deepening  storm,  he  becomes  the 
more  serenely  self-possessed,  and,  in  the  urifoldings  of 
native  grandeur,  instinctively  assumes  a  look  of  calm, 
unalterable  energy,  "  above  all  pain,  all  passion,  and  all 
pride."  Such  was  his  appearance  at  the  opening  of 
the  great  Nullification  debate,  when  he  stood  erect  and 
fearless  in  the  general  consternation,  invincibly  armed 
from  head  to  foot,  to  defend  the  Constitution  which  fled 
to  him  for  shelter,  and  palpitated  in  his  breast. 

The  greatest  effect  ever  produced  by  a  consum- 
mate orator  is  achieved  by  his  preserving  the  aspect  and 
advantage  of  repose  amidst  the  tempest  in  which  he  is 
involved,  showing  that  he  is  at  the  same  time  master  of 
the  stormy  elements  which  agitate  others  and  swell  within 
himself.  This  is  not  the  repose  of  inanition  or  irresolu- 
tion, but  the  repose  of  magnificent  energy  disciplined  to 
the  most  practical  use  by  self-possession.  It  produces  the 
consciousness  of  duty  performed,  when  evils  are  eradicat- 
ed and  victory  won,  is  most  diligent  in  slaying  the  worst 
monsters,  and  stands  at  length  embodied  before  the 
world  in  Hercules  leaning  on  his  club.  . 

Many  collisions  and  conquests  at  the  Capitol  of  this 
nation,  justify  the  allusion  here  made:  Therein  Mr. 
Webster  has  repeatedly  manifested  a  grasp  and  potency 
of  mind  which,  we  think,  are  found  in  no  other  living 
orator  in  the  new  world  or  old.  On  occasions  of  the 
3* 


58  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

highest  forensic  gladiatorship,  there  is  in  him,  such  an 
impressiveness  of  countenance,  such  startling  intonations 
of  voice,  such  depth  of  argument,  lucid  and  palpable  to 
every  entranced  faculty  of  the  spell-bound  audience, 
that  eloquence  seems  magical  and  persuasive  to  a  degree 
the  most  divine.  The  care  taken  before-hand,  skillfully 
to  construct  the  plan  of  attack,  and  arrange  in  order  his 
diversified  forces,  adds  calmest  confidence  to  the  deli- 
berate execution  and  all  the  more  certainly  insures  ulti- 
mate success ;  as  Napoleon  gained  the  battle  of  to-mor- 
row by  spending  a  sleepless  night  himself,  in  projecting 
his  plans  before  the  bivouac  fire,  while  he  sent  his  army 
to  sound  repose,  well  clad,  and  full  of  good  bread  and 
wine.  His  arguments,  like  the  Grecian  phalanx,  are  in 
close  array,  each  one  firmly  wedged  in  between  its  com- 
panions ;  so  that  the  defensive  points  of  his  logic,  like 
their  spears,  present  a  front  impenetrable  to  all  attacks. 
Each  subordinate  topic  is  a  link  whereby  the  chain  of 
his  thoughts  is  connected,  the  articulations  of  the  body 
of  his  argument,  without  which  it  would  be  stiff,  lame 
and  ungainly. 

"  All  things  within  it 
Are  so  digested,  fitted  and  composed 
As  it  shows  Wit  had  married  Order." 

A  noble  simplicity  and  spontaneous  force  are  the  char- 
acteristic features  of  Mr.  Webster's  eloquence;  and 
nence,  though  colors  fade,  and  language  in  time  becomes 
obsolete,  the  chasteness  of  its  form,  and  substarrce  of  im- 
mortal thought  can  never  decay.  His  ordinary  delivery 
if  "ot  the  rushing  torrent  of  impetuous  declamation, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  59 

foaming  and  upturning  everything  in  its  course,  but  the 
calm  and  grand  flow  of  a  noble,  unimpeded  stream.  By 
this,  it  is  not  meant  that  our  orator  is  never  excited  in 
his  higher  efforts, — no  man  is  more  so.  But  his  excite- 
ment does  not  so  much  embody  the  idea  of  physical  vio- 
lence, as  latent  power.  Veins  may  be  seen  in  the  breast 
of  a  god,  for  centuries  one  of  the  glories  of  the  Parthe- 
non,, and  now  in  the  British  Museum.  This  is  by  no 
means  absurd,  but  highly  natural.  Phidias  did  not  think 
of  deifying  a  hero  by  depriving  him  of  his  essential  hu- 
man characteristics ;  and  blood  is  as  requisite  to  invin- 
cible force  as  muscle,  bone  as  mind.  The  osseous  sys- 
tem is  undoubtedly  the  foundation  of  all  highly  organized 
forms,  consolidating  and  defining  the  particular  shape, 
but  is  of  itself  by  no  means  the  perfected  being.  It  is 
far  from  producing  the  rounded  symmetry,  and  graceful 
finish,  which,  as  the  veil  and  integument  of  an  exalted 
organization,  we  call  beauty.  Webster,  first  of  all,  is 
most  careful  with  respect  to  the  basis  of  his  argument ; 
but  when  he  has  firmly  secured  all  that  is  fundamental, 
he  is  far  from  being  indifferent  to  whatever  is  judiciously 
decorative.  He  combines  in  himself  not  only  the  bone 
and  muscle  of  mighty  argument,  but  he  has  also  its 
throbbing  flesh  and  bounding  blood.  He  is  excited,  but 
never  distorted,  and  in  this  respect,  he,  of  all  moderns, 
most  strikingly  resembles  the  best  models  of  classical 
antiquity.  The  Apollo  is  animated ;  the  Niobe  is  ab- 
sorbed ;  the  Warrior  of  Agasias  is  excited  ;  the  dying 
Gladiator  is  depressed ;  the  Laocoon  is  convulsed ;  but 
in  all  this  variety  of  exhilaration  or  suffering,  there  is  a 
power  of  self-control  manifest  and  supreme.  Even 


60  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

when  passion  or  anguish  becomes  too  big  for  utterance 
the  wisdom  of  the  ancients  borrowed  a  feature  of  tran- 
quillity, though  not  its  air.  Minds  of  the  order  we  are 
now  considering,  always  require  great  stimulus  to  deve- 
lop their  best  energies,  and  are  most  luminous  when 
most  exalted. 

"  The  clouds  which  hide 
The  mental  mountains  rising  nighest  Heaven, 
Are  full  of  finest  lightning,  and  a  breath 
Can  give  those  gathered  shadows  fearful  life, 
And  launch  their  light  in  thunder  o'er  the  world." 

We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Webster's  narrative  style, 
and  of  his  more  exalted  forensic  manner  ;  it  remains,  in 
conclusion,  to  notice  a  third  style,  sometimes  exempli- 
fied by  him,  but  as  unlike  the  two  former  as  it  is  possi- 
ble to  conceive.  This  is  seen  in  him  when  exasperated 
by  the  conduct  of  others,  or  by  something  ungenerous 
and  impertinent  which  has  been  drawn  into  the  debate. 
He  then  is  exceedingly  rapid  in  utterance,  and  violent  in 
action ;  pours  forth  a  torrent  of  words,  on  a  high  key, 
and  with  sharp,  shrill  emphasis,  like  the  percussion  of 
small  arms.  Now  deadly  pale  with  emotion,  and  anon 
flushed  with  deep  crimson  to  the  topmost  bend  of  his 
awful  brows,  with  tones  that  are  the  more  impressive 
from  a  slight  trembling  of  proud  scorn,  enforced  by  a 
visage  all  inflamed,  he  hurls  defiance  at  his  foes.  Then 
those  indescribable  eye-balls  of  his  become  terrible  in 
their  expression,  matched  only  by  the  compressed  lips 
and  impending  temples,  all  combined  in  suggesting  un- 
speakable contempt,  and  "Revolving  lightnings  like  • 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  61 

world  on  fire."  This,  however,  is  the  exception  rather  than 
the  rule  with  our  orator,  and  is  seen  when  he  not  only 
convinces,  but  overpowers  and  oppresses  the  hearer. 
This  latter  style  completes  a  happy  variety  of  manner, 
suited  to  every  kind  of  subject,  every  class  of  adver- 
saries, every  frame  of  mind,  and  undoubtedly  is  one 
great  secret  of  his  unequalled  power,  since  the  mode 
of  his  address,  always  springs  naturally  out  of  the  sub- 
ject or  occasion,  and  is  most  effective  because  it  is 
never  assumed.  Eloquent  discourse  is  the  convey- 
ing thoughts  in  language  which  most  resembles 
things;  the  more  perfect  the  thing  represented,  the 
more  impressive  will  be  the  thought  conveyed.  Mr. 
Webster  is  superlatively  eloquent  in  his  happier 
inspirations,  because  his  outward  excitement  is  ex- 
actly proportioned  to  the  inward  ;  if  he  is  not  aroused 
by  the  action  of  the  subject  on  his  own  soul,  no  audience 
in  the  world  can  inflame  him,  and  when  he  is  really  im- 
passioned, it  is  ever  with  natural  fire  and  no  mortal 
powers  can  withstand  the  fury  of  its  blaze.  His  imagi- 
nation permeates  and  energizes  the  indomitable  arms  of 
his  logic,  as  the'  poetry  of  Cromwell  lay  only  in  his  facts 
and  in  his  sword.  Close,  firm,  and  irresistibly  argu- 
mentative, the  substance  of  his  speech  is  luminous 
truth,  and  his  habitual  style  deep  and  grave,  like  history 
inscribed  on  monuments. 

Pliny  says  that  Aristonidas,  the  Theban,  mixed 
metals  with  the  materials  of  his  art ;  and  Alcon  formed 
a  Hercules  of  iron,  to  express  the  strength  and  dura- 
bility of  the  god.  Such,  we  think,  is  the  character  of 
Mr.  "Webster's  mind.  His  reasonings  are  more  the 


62  LIVING    CttATOES    IN    AMERICA. 

exertions  of  study  than  the  effects  of  impulse.     A  severe 
and  learned  simplicity  is  his  most  natural  tone,  in  the 
exercise  of  which  he  breathes  and  creates  the  graceful 
majesty  of  the  antique.     Disproportion  of  parts  may  be 
an  element  of  hugeness,  but  only  as   connected   with 
elaborated  proportion  does  true  grandeur  exist.     Egyp- 
tian architecture   is   huge,  but   the   Grecian,  alone,  is 
grand.      Eloquence   of  the   Websterian   order   is   not 
something  hollow  and  artificial,  but  firm  and  natural ; 
an  etherial  and  invincible  essence,  developed  in  sincere 
belief  and  fervid  feelings,  and  which  no  conventional 
rules   can  either  analyze,  estimate,  or  produce.     The 
peculiar  breadth  and  potency  of  his  style  resembles  the 
movement  of  a  mighty  sea ;  waves  arise,  approach,  and 
break  on  the  shore,  but  in  their  rise  and  fall,  emerging 
and  bursting  into  spray,  perpetually  impress  the  spec- 
tator with  the   image   of  that   omnipotent  hand   that 
rouses,  impels,  and   yet  controls   them.     As   the   two 
greatest  artists  that  ever  lived,  Phidias  and  Michael  An- 
gelo,  were  painters  as  well  as  sculptors,  they  combined 
in  their  best  productions  the  highest  measure  of  force 
and  most  perfect  knowledge  of  effect ;  thus  in  magnifi- 
cence of  conception,  and  poetry  of   character,  in   a 
happy  selection  of  subject,  and-  fearless  execution  of 
hand,  they-jremain,  to  all  the  world,  unsurpassed.     Pre- 
cisely of  the  same  stamp  is  the  mind  of  Daniel  Webster. 
Nothing  in  nature,  art,  history,  philosophy,  or  morals,  is 
foreign  to  his  clear  and  comprehensive  design  ;  every 
department  of  knowledge,  mastered  by  a  long  and  stu- 
dious life,  is  made  to  contribute  a  beam  of  truth  to  the 
torch  which  he  grasps  like  a  giant,  and  holds  forth  to 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  63 

irradiate  the  course  of  his  demonstration,  at  the  same 
time  consummating  oratorical  excellence  and  unequalled 
statesmanship. 

An  intelligent  English  traveller  has  recorded  the  fol- 
lowing personal  sketch : — 

"  The  forehead  of  Mr.  Webster  is  high,  broad,  and 
advancing.  The  cavity  beneath  the  eyebrow  is  remark- 
ably large.  The  eye  is  deeply  set,  but  full,  dark,  and 
penetrating  in  the  highest  degree ;  the  nose  prominent 
and  well  defined  ;  the  mouth  marked  by  that  rigid  com- 
pression of  the  lips  by  which  the  New  Englanders  are 
distinguished.  When  Mr.  Webster's  countenance  is  in 
repose,  its  expression  struck  me  as  cold  and  forbidding, 
but  in  conversation  it  lightens  up  ;  and  when  he  smiles, 
the  whole  impression  it  communicates  is  at  once 
changed.  His  voice  is  clear,  sharp,  and  firm,  without 
much  variety  of  modulation  ;  but  when  animated,  it 
rings  on  the  ear  like  a  clarion." 

To  this  we  may  add  the  remark  of  another  observer, 
touching  his  sense  of  personal  propriety: — "Mr.  Web- 
ster never  appears  before  an  audience  without  a  due 
preparation.  The  habits  of  his  mind  partake  of  those  in 
respect  to  his  person.  On  all  occasions  when  he  is  to 
be  the  chief  speaker,  he  is  carefully  and  tastefully 
dressed.  I  have  seen  him  often  in  the  U.  S.  Senate, 
and  in  the  Court  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Tribunal — a 
glance  at  his  person  is  sufficient  to  indicate  whether  or 
not  he  is  to  speak.  A  blue  coat  and  buff  vest,  similar 
to  that  worn  by  Mr.  Fox  in  Parliament,  is  his  favorite 
dress  for  great  occasions  in  the  Senate;  a  black  suit  is 
chopen  for  the  bar." 


64  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

The  great  writer,  statesman,  patriot,  and  orator,  whom 
we  have  thus  considered,  is  now  in  the  zenith  of  his 
fame  and  strength.  Painting  has  never  done  justice  to 
his  massy  figure  and  impressive  features,  nor  has  lan- 
guage yet  adequately  portrayed  his  extraordinary  elo- 
quence. There  is  a  Doric  substantiability  about  all  his 
person,  inimitable  and  unwasting,  a  loftiness  of  character 
in  harmony  with  the  divinest  art,  and  which  sculpture 
alone  can  fitly  express.  In  coming  centuries  his  noble 
form,  wrought  by  kindred  genius  in  speaking  marble, 
towering  from  a  colossal  base  of  New  England  granite, 
and  draped  in  that  simple  majesty  which  commands  the 
admiring  world,  will  rise  to  meet  the  sun  in  his  coming  ; 
the  earliest  light  of  the  morning  shall  gild  it,  and  the 
parting  day  of  American  freedom  "  linger  and  play  on 
its  summit." 


CHAPTER    H. 

EDWARD    EVERETT, 

THE  RHETORICIAN. 

A  RIPE  scholar,  graceful  speaker,  and  consummate 
master  of  rhetorical  art,  is  EDWARD  EVERETT,  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Before  the  illustration  of  these  points,  we 
will  present  a  few  historical  statements. 

He  was  born  in  Dorchester,  Norfolk  County,  on  the 
llth  of  April,  1794.  Edward  was  the  fourth  in  a  family 
of  eight  children,  and  lost  his  father,  a  highly  respecta- 
ble clergyman,  when  he  was  but  eight  years  old.  His 
education,  till  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  was  ob- 
tained almost  exclusively  at  the  public  schools  in  Dor- 
chester and  Boston,  to  which  latter  place  the  family 
removed  after  his  father's  decease.  In  the  Academy,  at 
Exeter,  N.  H.,  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Abbott,  he  com- 
pleted his  preparation  for  college.  He  entered  Harvard 
University  in  August,  1807,  and  graduated  in  1811, 
with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class. 

Under  the  influence  and  instruction  of  Rev.  J.  S. 
Buckminster  and  President  Kirkland,  he  was  induced 
to  select  the  profession  of  theology.  In  1812  he  was 
appointed  Latin  tutor  IB  the  University.  In  the 


0  LiviAG    OKATORS    JN    AMERICA. 

autumn  of  1813,  being  then  less  than,  nineteen  years 
of  age,  he  was  settled,  as  the  successor  of  Buckminster, 
over  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  in  Boston.^  In  addition 
to  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  ministry,  he  wrote  and  pub- 
lished a  Defence  of  Christianity,  which  was  regarded  as 
an  elaborate  and  able  work. 

Having  been  appointed  by  the  Corporation  and  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  University,  Professor  of  Greek  Litera- 
ture, he  obtained  a  dismission  from  his  congregation, 
and  assumed  his  new  functions  at  Cambridge,  when 
under  twenty-one  years  of  age.  To  improve  his  health, 
and  perfect  his  qualifications  for  the  chair  to  which  he 
had  been  called,  he  was  permitted  and  enabled,  by  the 
corporation,  to  travel  in  Europe,  and  to  reside  some 
time  at  the  principal  foreign  universities. 

He  embarked  from  Boston  in  the  spring  of  1815,  im- 
mediately after  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain.  On  arriving  in  Liverpool,  he  heard  of  the 
escape  of  Napoleon  from  Elba,  and  was  in  London 
when  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought.  From  Eng- 
land he  went  to  Germany,  passed  a  few  days  at  Rotter- 
dam, Amsterdam,  Leyden,  and  the  other  Dutch  cities, 
and  proceeded  through  Westphalia  to  Gottingen,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Hanover. 

At  this  most  celebrated  German  University  he  spent 
two  years  in  assiduous  study,  and  employed  the  vaca- 
tions in  excursions  to  the  principal  cities  and  universi- 
ties of  the  North. 

The  winter  of  1817  he  spent  in  Paris,  acquiring  the 
Italian  and  modern  Greek  languages.  Here  he  enjoyed 
the  society  of  many  eminent  men,  and  acquainted  him- 


EDWARD   EVERETT.  67 

self  with  several  new  branches  of  knowledge.  In  1818, 
he  again  visited  England,  spent  some  time  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  made  excursions  to  Wales  and  the  Lakes, 
Edinburgh,  and  the  Highlands,  passed  a  few  days  with 
Sir  Walter,  at  Abbotslbrd,  and  became  acquainted  with 
Dugald  Stewart,  as  well  as  with  many  other  distin- 
guished characters  of  England  and  Scotland. 

In  the  autumn  of  1818,  he  returned  to  France,  and 
proceeded  to  Switzerland  and  Italy.  He  passed  by  the 
way  of  Lyons,  Geneva,  Chamouni,  and  the  glaciers  of 
Mont  Blanc  ;  made  a  circuit  through  Lausanne,  Berne, 
Lucerne,  Altdorf,  and  theValais;  crossed  the  Simplon 
to  Milan  ;  went  through  Lombardy  to  Venice,  and  then 
back  over  the  Appenines  to  Florence.  The  winter  was 
spent  in  Rome,  in  antiquarian  research,  and  converse 
with  distinguished  men. 

In  the  spring  of  1819,  he  went  to  Naples ;  and  after 
visiting  the  most  interesting  localities  in  that  vicinity, 
crossed  over  to  Bari,  on  the  Adriatic ;  and  thence  tra- 
velled on  horseback  by  the  way  of  Lecce  to  Otranto. 
Thence  he  took  passage  to  Corfu,  and  the  coast  of  Al- 
bania.  Bearing  letters  to  Ali  Pacha  from  Lord  Byron, 
he  was  received  by  that  famous  chieftain,  at  Yanina, 
with  great  kindness.  Crossing  Mount  Pindus,  and 
going  north  as  fat  as  the  Vale  of  Tempe",  he  returned 
through  Thessaly  to  Thermopylae,  passing  by  Pharsalia, 
over  Mount  Parnassus  to  Delphi,  Thebes,  and  Athens. 
He  then  made  an  excursion  over  the  Isthmus  of  Co- 
rinth to  Sparta,  and  returning  to  the  north,  embarked  in 
the  Gulf  of  Vblo  for  the  Dardanelles,  visiting  the  site  of 
Troy  and  Constantinople. 


68  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

In  June,  1819,  he  passed  the  Balkan  Mountains,  and 
crossing  the  Danube  at  Nicopol,  went  through  Wal- 
lachia  to  Bucharest,  and  entered  Austria  through  the 
great  pass  in  the  Carpathian  Mountains.  After  spend- 
ing some  time  at  Vienna,  he  traversed  Austria,  the 
Tyrol,  and  Bavaria.  Returning  by  the  way  of  Paris  and 
London,  he  took  passage  for  America,  September,  1819. 
The  record  from  which  we  have  condensed  the  above 
sketch,  says,  that  the  whole  time  spent  by  Mr.  Everett, 
in  his  travels  and  studies  in  Europe  and  Asia,  was 
nearly  four  years  and  seven  months. 

Having  thus  briefly  indicated  the  fullness  and  variety 
of  classical  attainment  received  by  Mr.  Everett,  pre- 
paratory to  the  duties  of  his  Professorship  at  Cambridge, 
we  now  proceed  more  particularly  to  notice  his  literary 
career  at  home. 

Near  the  close  of  1819,  he  was  solicited  to  assume 
the  editorial  charge  of  the  North  American  Review. 
Its  number  of  subscribers,  at  that  time,  was  inconsider- 
able, but  a  great  change  in  its  style  and  fortunes  imme- 
diately took  place.  A  new  series  commenced,  in  which 
the  miscellaneous  department  was  omitted,  and  the  work 
conformed  throughout  to  the  type  of  European  publica- 
tions of  the  same  character.  Many  of  its  numbers 
passed  into  a  second  and  even  a  third  edition.  Under 
the  administration  of  the  new  editor,  its  circulation  in- 
creased with  so  much  rapidity  that  it  became  necessary 
to  reprint  several  editions  of  the  first  series,  in  order  to 
supply  the  augmented  demand  for  the  whole.  He  gave 
it  an  American  character  and  spirit,  so  that  it  com- 
manded not.  only  the  admiration  and  support  of  his  own 


EDWARD    EVERETT. 


countrymen,  but  the  respectful  regards  of  foreign  critics 
and  scholars.  His  editorship  of  this  leading  American 
Review  continued  four  years ;  but  he  has  occasionally 
contributed  to  its  pages  ever  since. 

The  lectures  on  Greek  literature,  delivered  by  Mr. 
Everett  to  the  students  of  Harvard  University,  says  a 
literary  friend,  "are  remembered  with  respectful  grati- 
tude by  all  whose  privilege  it  was  to  be  connected  with 
the  college  during  his  continuance  in  office  there.  At 
the  same  time  he  delivered  two  courses  of  lectures  in 
Boston  on  ancient  art,  which,  as  well  as  his  collegiate 
lectures,  remain  still  unpublished.  When,  after  having 
received  such  corrections  and  additions  as  his  mature 
experience  and  leisure  may  enable  him  to  bestow  upon 
them,  they  shall  be  given  to  the  world,  those  who  heard 
them  are  confident  that  they  will  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  noblest  contributions  ever  made  to  our  literature. 

"  While  residing  at  Cambridge,  he  kept  up  a  corres- 
pondence with  his  learned  friends  abroad,  particularly 
with  the  scholars  and  patriots  of  Greece  ;  and  by  his 
zealous  exertions  did  much  to  awaken  the  interest  which, 
throughout  the  country,  and  in  the  halls  of  Congress, 
was  expressed  in  behalf  of  that  renowned  people  in  their 
long  and  glorious  struggle  for  liberty  and  independence. 
In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  Professor  at  Cambridge 
he  was  faithful,  constant,  and  eminently  successful." 

The  publications  of  Mr.  Everett  are  numerous. 
His  early  theological  work  has  been  referred  to.  At  a 
subsequent  period,  in  addition  to  the  eloquent,  erudite, 
and  patriotic  articles  which  he  contributed  to  the  North 
American  Review,  and  other  periodicals,  he  prepared  a 


70  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Greek  grammar  and  a  Greek  class  book  for  the  use  of 
students,  while  Professor  at  Cambridge.  His  various 
orations  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  copiously 
under  another  head. 

We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Everett  as  a  divine,  and  as  a 
scholar ;  it  remains,  thirdly,  to  sketch  his  progress  as  a 
politician.  In  1824,  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  Con- 
gressional District  to  which  Cambridge  belongs  ;  and 
Mr.  Everett  was  put  in  nomination  to  fill  the  place.  To 
the  astonishment  of  all,  he  was  elected  by  a  decisive 
majority.  Contrary  to  his  expectation  at  the  time 
of  accepting  a  nomination,  it  is  said,  his  connection 
•with  the  University,  as  an  instructor,  ceased  on  his 
election  to  Congress ;  but  he  was  immediately  chosen 
by  the  overseers  as  a  member  of  their  board. 

In  December,  1825,  Mr.  Everett  first  entered  upon 
his  duties  at  Washington,  and  was  re-elected  for  five 
successive  Congresses  by  large  majorities.  His  legisla- 
tive labors  were  numerous  and  effective.  For  ten  years 
continuously,  he  was  on  the  committee  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, and  much  of  the  time  its  chairman.  Among  the 
many  reports  which  he  drew  up,  that  on  the  Panama 
mission  occupies  a  conspicuous  place.  He  collected  all 
the  facts  and  arguments  in  reference  to  that  vexed 
qustion  into  a  volume;  and  much  of  the  credit  for 
having  finally  procured  the  final  adjustment  of  our 
claims  upon  foreign  powers  for  spoliation  is  undoubtedly 
due  to  him. 

"  He  was  chairman  of  the  Select  Committee,  during 
Mr.  Adams'  Presidency,  on  the  Georgia  controversy ; 
and  always  took  a  leading  part,  while  in  Congress,  in 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  71 

the  efforts  that  were  made  to  protect  the  Indians  from 
injustice.  In  the  spring  of  1827  he  addressed  a  series  of 
letters  to  Mr.  Canning  on  the  subject  of  the  colonial 
trade,  which  were  extensively  re-published.  He  always 
served  on  the  Library  Committee,  and  generally  on 
that  for  the  Public  Buildings;  together  with  John  Ser- 
geant, he  constituted  the  minority  on  the  famous  Re- 
trenchment Committee.  He  drew  the  report  for  the 
Committee  in  favor  of  the  heirs  of  Fulton.  Together 
with  Governor  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut,  he  constituted 
the  minority  of  the  Bank  investigating  Committee, 
which  was  despatched  to  Philadelphia,  and  wrote  the 
minority  report.  He  wrote  the  minority  report  of 
the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  in  reference 
to  the  controversy  with  France,  in  the  spring  of 
1835;  distinguished -himself  by  the  high  ground  he 
took  on  the  subject  in  debate,  and  supplied,  in  the 
last  clause  of  his  report,  the  words  of  the  resolu- 
tion unanimously  passed,  in  reference  to  it,  by  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  also,  at  the  same  ses- 
sion, prepared  a  statement  on  French  spoliations  prior 
to  1800,  which  was  printed  by  order  of  the  House." 

In  the  spring  of  1835,  Mr.  Everett  took  his  leave  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  having  declined  a  re-elec- 
tion. On  the  election  of  Governor  Davis  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  same  year,  he  became  his 
successor  in  the  gubernatorial  office.  In  1836,  and  again 
in  1837,  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  exalted  functions. 
At  a  subsequent  period  he  became  the  American  Minister 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  which  office  he  held  for  several 


72  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

years.     On  his  return  he  was  chosen  President  of  Har- 
vard University,  which  station  he  has  just  resigned. 

Having  viewed  Mr.  Everett  as  a  student,  divine,  pro- 
fessor, and  politician,  let  us  now  more  deliberately  con- 
template him  as  an  orator.  In  this  exalted  sphere,  he 
widely  established  his  fame  as  early  as  1824,  when  he 
delivered  his  oration  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society 
at  Cambridge.  General  Lafayette  wss  among  the  au- 
ditors, to  whom,  at  the  close,  he  referred  as  follows  : 

"  Meantime,  the  years  are  rapidly  passing  away  and 
gathering  importance  in  their  course.  With  the  pre- 
sent year,  will  be  completed  the  half  century  from  that 
most  important  era  in  human  history,  the  commence- 
ment of  our  revolutionary  war.  The  jubilee  of  our  na 
tional  existence  is  at  hand.  The  space  of  time  that  has 
elapsed  since  that  momentous  date,  has  laid  down  in  the 
dust,  which  the  blood  of  many  of  them  had  already  hal- 
lowed, most  of  the  great  men  to  whom,  under  Provi- 
dence, we  owe  our  national  existence  and  privileges 
A  few  still  survive  among  us,  to  reap  the  rich  fruits  of 
their  labors  and  sufferings  ;  and  ONE  has  yielded  himself 
to  the  united  voice  of  a  people,  and  returned  in  his  age, 
to  receive  the  gratitude  of  the  nation,  to  whom  he  de- 
voted his  youth.  It  is  recorded  on  the  pages  of  Ameri- 
can history,  that  when  this  friend  of  our  country 
applied  to  our  commissioners  at  Paris,  in  1776,  for  a  pas- 
sage in  the  first  ship  they  should  despatch  to  America, 
they  were  obliged  to  answer  him,  (so  low  and  abject  was 
then  our  dear  native  land)  that  they  possessed  not  the 
means  nor  the  credit  sufficient  for  providing  a  single 
vessel,  in  all  the  ports  of  France.  '  Then/  exclaimed  thv 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  73 

youthful  hero, '  I  will  provide  my  own  ;'  and  it  is  a  literal 
fact,  that  when  all  America  was  too  poor  to  offer  him 
so  much  as  a  passage  to  her  shores,  he  left,  in  his  tender 
youth,  the  bosom  of  home,  of  happiness,  of  wealth,  of 
rank,  to  plunge  in  the  dust  and  blood  of  our  inauspicious 
struggle ! 

"  Welcome,  friend  of  our  fathers,  to  our  shores !  Hap- 
py are  our  eyes  that  behold  those  venerable  features. 
Enjoy  a  triumph  such  as  never  conqueror  nor  monarch 
enjoyed,  the  assurance  that  throughout  America,  there 
is  not  a  bosom,  which  does  not  beat  with  joy  and  grati- 
tude at  the  sound  of  your  name.  You  have  already  met 
and  saluted,  or  will  soon  meet,  the  few  that  remain,  of 
the  ardent  patriots,  prudent  counsellors,  and  brave  war- 
riors, with  whom  you  were  associated  in  achieving  our 
liberty.  But  you  have  looked  round  in  vain  for  the  faces 
of  many,  who  would  have  lived  years  of  pleasure  on  a  day 
like  this,  with  their  old  companion  in  arms  and  brother 
in  peril.  Lincoln,  and  Greene,  and  Knox,  and  Hamil- 
ton, are  gone  ;  the  heroes  of  Saratoga  and  Yorktown 
have  fallen,  before  the  only  foe  they  could  not  meet. 
Above  all,  the  first  of  heroes  and  of  men,  the  friend  of 
your  youth,  the  more  than  friend  of  his  country,  rests  in 
the  bosom  of  the  soil  he  redeemed.  On  the  banks  of 
his  Potomac,  he  lies  in  glory  and  peace.  You  will  re- 
visit the  hospitable  shades  of  Mount  Vernon,  but  him 
whom  you  venerated  as  we  did,  you  will  not  meet  at  its 
door.  His  voice  of  consolation,  which  reached  you  in 
the  Austrian  dungeons,  cannot  now  breaths  silence,  to 
bid  you  welcome  to  his  own  roof.  But  the  grateful 
children  of  America  will  bid  you  welcome  in  his  name 
4 


74  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Welcome,  thrice  welcome  to  our  shores ;  and  whitherso- 
ever throughout  the  limits  of  the  continent  your  course 
shall  take  you,  the  ear  that  hears  you  shall  bless  you,  the 
eye  that  sees  you  shall  bear  witness  to  you,  and  every 
tongue  exclaim,  with  heartfelt  joy,  welcome,  welcome 
La  Fayette !" 

Preparatory  to  a  critical  analysis  of  Mr.  Everett's 
eloquence,  we  will  select  several  specimens  from  his  oc- 
casional addresses,  exemplifying  his  imagination,  his  sen- 
sibility to  patriotic  associations,  and  his  appreciation  of 
exalted  personal  worth.  In  the  first  place,  to  illustrate 
his  imagination,  we  will  adduce  examples  from  among 
his  first  and  last  orations.  Near  the  close  of  his  re- 
marks at  Plymouth  Rock,  December  22d,  1824,  Mr. 
Everett  said  : 

"  Methinks  I  see  it  now,  that  one  solitary,  adventu- 
rous vessel,  the  Mayflower  of  a  forlorn  hope,  freighted 
with  the  prospects  of  a  future  state,  and  bound  across 
the  unknown  sea.  I  behold  it  pursuing,  with  a  thousand 
misgivings,  the  uncertain,  the  tedious  voyage.  Suns 
rise  and  set,  and  weeks  and  months  pass,  and  winter 
surprises  them  on  the  deep,  but  brings  them  not  the 
sight  of  the  wished-for  shore.  I  see  them  now  scantily 
supplied  with  provisions,  crowded  almost  to  suffocation 
in  their  ill-stored  prison,  delayed  by  calms,  pursuing  a 
circuitous  route;— and  now  driven  in  fury  before  the 
raging  tempest,  on^the  high  and  giddy  waves.  The 
awful  voice  of  the  storm  howls  through  the  rigging. 
The  laboring^masts  seem  straining  from  their  base  ;-— 
the  dismal  sound  of  the  pumps  is  heard  -—the  ship  leaps, 
as  it  were,  madly,  from  billow  to  billow;— the  ocean 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  75 

breaks,  and  settles  with  engulphing  floods  over  the  float- 
ing deck,  and  beats  with  deadening  weight,  against  the 
staggered  vessel.  I  see  them,  escaped  from  these  perils, 
pursuing  their  all  but  desperate  undertaking,  and  landed 
at  last,  after  a  five  months'  passage,  on  the  ice-clad  rocks 
of  Plymouth, — weak  and  weary  from  the  voyage, — 
poorly  armed,  scantily  provisioned,  depending  on  the 
charity  of  their  ship-master  for  a  draft  of  beer  on  board, 
drinking  nothing  but  water  on  shore, — without  shelter, 
— without  means, — surrounded  by  hostile  tribes.  Shut 
now  the  volume  of  history,  and  tell  me,  on  any  principle 
of  human  probability,  wh.it  shall  be  the  fate  of  this  hand- 
ful of  adventurers.  Tell  me,  man  of  military  science, 
in  how  many  months  were  they  all  swept  off  by  the 
thirty  savage  tribes,  enumerated  within  the  early  limits 
of  New  England  ?  Tell  me,  politician,  how  long  did 
this  shadow  of  a  colony,  on  which  your  conventions 
and  treaties  had  not  smiled,  languish  on  the  distant 
coast  ?  Student  of  history,  compare  for  me  the  baffled 
projects,  the  deserted  settlements,  the  abandoned  adven- 
tures, of  other  times,  and  find  the  parallel  of  this.  Was 
it  the  winter's  storm,  beating  upon  the  houseless  heads 
of  women  and  children ;  was  it  hard  labor  and  spare 
meals  ; — was  it  disease, — was  it  the  tomahawk, — was  it 
the  deep  malady  of  a  blighted  hope,  a  ruined  enterprise, 
and  a  broken  heart,  aching  in  its  last  moments  at  the 
recollection  of  the  loved  and  left,  beyond  the  sea  ;  was 
it  some,  or  all  of  these  united,  that  hurried  this  forsaken 
company  to  their  melancholy  fate? — And  is  it  possible, 
that  neither  of  these  causes,  that  not  all  combined,  were 
able  to  blast  this  bud  of  hope  ?  Is  it  possible,  that  from 


70  LIVING     OBATOBS    IN    AMERICA. 

a  beginning  so  feeble,  so  frail,  so  worthy,  not  so  much  of 
admiration  as  of  pity,  there  has  gone  forth  a  progress  so 
steady,  a  growth  so  wonderful,  a  reality  so  important,  a 
promise  yet  to  be  fulfilled,  so  glorious  ?" 

In  the  address  delivered  at  Bloody  Brook,  in  South 
Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  September  30,  1835,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  "  Flower  of  Essex"  who  fell  at  that 
spot,  in  King  Philip's  war,  September  18,  (O.  S.)  1675, 
Mr.  Everett  began  as  follows  : 

"Gathered  in  this  temple  not  made  with  hands,  to  un- 
roll the  venerable  record  of  our  father  V  history,  let  our 
first  thoughts  ascend  to  him,  whose  heavens  are  spread 
out,  as  a  glorious  canopy,  above  our  heads.  As  our 
eyes  look  up  to  the  everlasting  hills  which  rise  before  us, 
let  us  remember  that  in  the  dark  and  eventful  days  we 
commemorate,  the  hand  that  lifted  their  eternal  pillars 
to  the  clouds,  was  the  sole  stay  and  support  of  our  afflicted 
sires.  While  we  contemplate  the  lovely  scene  around 
us, — once  covered  with  the  gloomy  forest  and  the  tan- 
gled swamps,  through  which  the  victims  of  this  day  pur- 
sued their  unsuspecting  path  to  the  field  of  slaughter, — 
let  us  bow  in  gratitude  to  Him,  beneath  whose  paternal 
care  a  little  one  has  become  a  thousand,  and  a  small  one 
a  strong  nation.  Assembled  under  the  shadow  of  this 
venerable  1/ee,  let  us  bear  a  thankful  recollection,  that 
at  the  period  when  its  sturdy  limbs  which  now  spread 
over  us,  hung  with  nature's  rich  and  verdant  tapestry, 
were  all  folded  up  within  the  narrow  compass  of  their 
seminal  germ, — the  thousand  settlements  of  our  beloved 
country,  teeming  with  the  life,  energy,  and  power  of 
prosperous  millions,  were  struggling  with  unimagined 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  77 

hardships  for  a  doubtful  existence,  in  a  score  of  feeble 
plantations  scattered  through  the  hostile  wilderness. 
Alas,  it  was  not  alone  the  genial  showers,  and  the  gentle 
dews,  and  the  native  richness  of  the  soil,  which  nour- 
ished the  growth  of  this  stately  tree.  The  sod  from 
which  it  sprung,  was  moistened  with  the  blood  of  brave 
man  who  fell  for  their  country,  and  the  ashes  of  peace- 
ful dwellings  are  mingled  with  the  consecrated  earth. 
In  like  manner,  it  is  not  alone  the  wisdom  and  the  cour- 
age, the  piety  and  the  virtue  of  our  fathers, — not  alone 
the  prudence  with  which  they  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  State,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  its  happy  growth 
and  all-pervading  prosperity.  No,  we  ought  never  to 
forget,  we  ought  this  day  especially  to  remember,  that 
it  was  in  their  sacrifices  and  trials,  their  heart-rending 
sorrows,  their  ever-renewed  tribulations,  their  wander- 
ing?, their  conflicts,  their  wants  and  their  woes, — that 
the  corner-stone  of  our  privileges  and  blessings  was 
laid. 

<;  As  I  stand  on  this  hallowed  spot,  my  mind  filled  with 
the  traditions  of  that  disastrous  day,  surrounded  by  these 
enduring  natural  memorials,  impressed  with  the  touching 
ceremonies  we  have  just  witnessed, — the  affecting  inci- 
dents of  the  bloody  scene  crowd  upon  my  imagination. 
This  compact  and  prosperous  village  disappears,  and  a 
few  scattered  log  cabins  are  seen,  in  the  bosom  of  the 
primeval  forest,  clustering  for  protection  around  the 
rude  block-house  in  the  centre.  A  corn-field  or  two 
has  been  rescued  from  the  all-surrounding  wilderness, 
and  here  and  there  the  yellow  husks  are  heard  to  rustle 
in  the  breeze,  that  comes  loaded  with  the  mournful  sigh* 


78  LIVING     OKATORS    IN    AMERICA, 

of  the  melancholy  pine  woods.  Beyond,  the  intermin- 
able forest  spreads  in  every  direction,  the  covert  of  the 
wolf,  of  the  rattle-snake,  of  the  savage  ;  and  between 
its  gloomy  copses,  what  is  now  a  fertile  and  cultivated 
meadow,  stretches  out  a  dreary  expanse  of  unreclaimed 
morass.  I  look, — I  listen.  All  is  still, — solemnly,— 
frightfully  still.  No  voice  of  human  activity  or  enjoy- 
ment breaks  the  dreary  silence  of  nature,  or  mingles 
with  the  dirge  of  the  woods  and  water-courses.  All 
seems  peaceful  and  still : — and  yet  there  is  a  strange 
heaviness  in  the  fall  of  the  leaves  in  the  wood  that  skirts 
the  road  ;  there  is  an  unnatural  flitting  in  those  shadows  ; 
there  is  a  plashing  sound  in  the  waters  of  that  brook, 
which  mykes  the  flesh  creep  with  horror.  Hark  !  it  is 
the  click  of  a  gun-lock  from  that  thicket ; — no,  it  is  a 
pebble,  that  has  dropped  from  the  over-hanging  cliff, 
upon  the  rock  beneath.  It  is,  it  is  the  gleaming  blade 
of  a  scalping-knife  ; — no,  it  is  a  sun-beam  thrown  off 
from  that  dancing  ripple.  It  is,  it  is  the  red  feather  of 
a  savage  chief,  peeping  from  behind  that  maple  tree  :— 
no,  it  is  a  leaf,  which  September  has  touched  with  her 
many-tinted  pencil,  And  now  a  distant  drum  is  heard  ; 
yes,  that  is  a  sound  of  life, — conscious,  proud  life.  A 
single  fife  breaks  upon  the  ear,— a  stirring  strain.  It  is 
one  of  the  marches,  to  which  the  stern  warriors  of 
Cromwell  moved  over  the  field  at  Naseby  and  Wor- 
cester. There  are  no  loyal  ears,  to  take  offence  at  a 
puritanical  march  in  a  transatlantic  forest;  and  hard  by, 
at  Hadley,  there  is  a  grey-haired  fugitive,  who  followed 
the  cheering  strain,  at  the  head  of  his  division  in  the 
army  of  the  great  usurper.  The  warlike  note  grows 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  79 

louder  ;  I  hear  the  tread  of  armed  men : — but  I  run  be- 
fore my  story." 

The  gentle  order  of  imagination  peculiar  to  Mr. 
Everett's  mind,  enables  him  to  excel  in  picturesque 
description.  A  good  specimen  of  history  fancifully  em- 
bellished is  presented  in  his  "  Three  Pictures  of  Boston  :" 

"  To  understand  the  character  of  the  commerce  of  our 
own  city,  we  must  not  look  merely  at  one  point,  but  at 
the  whole  circuit  of  country,  of  which  it  is  the  business 
centre.  We  must  not  contemplate  it  only  at  this  pre- 
sent moment  of  time,  but  we  must  bring  before  our 
imaginations,  as  in  the  shifting  scenes  of  a  diorama  al 
least  three  successive  historical  and  topographical  pic- 
tures ;  and  truly  instructive  1  think  it  would  be  to  see 
them  delineated  on  canvas.  We  must  survey  the  first 
of  them  in  the  company  of  the  venerable  John  Win- 
throp,  the  founder  of  the  State.  Let  us  go  up  with  him, 
on  the  day  of  his  landing,  the  seventeenth  of  June,  1630, 
"to  the  heights  of  yonder  peninsula,  as  yet  without  a 
name.  Landward  stretches  a  dismal  forest ;  seaward,  a 
waste  of  waters,  unspotted  with  a  sail,  except  that  of  his 
own  ship.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  you  see  the  cabins  of 
Walford  and  the  Spragues,  who — the  latter  a  year  be- 
fore, the  former  still  earlier — had  adventured  to  this  spot, 
untenanted  else  by  any  child  of  civilization.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  river  lies  Mr.  Blackstone's  farm.  It 
comprises  three  goodly  hills,  converted  by  a  spring-tide 
into  three  wood-crowned  islets ;  and  it  is  mainly  valued 
for  a  noble  spring  of  fresh  water,  which  gushes  from  the 
northern  slope  of  one  of  these  hills,  and  which  furnished 
in  the  course  of  the  summer,  the  motive  for  transferring 


80  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  seat  of  ihe  infant  settlement.     This  shall  be  the  first 
picture. 

"  The  second  shall  be  contemplated  from  the  same  spot 
—the  heights  of  Charlestown — on  the  same  day,  the 
eventful  seventeenth  of  June,  one  hundred  and  forty 
years  later,  namely,  in  the  year  1775.  A  terrific  scene 
of  war  rages  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  Wait  for  a  favora- 
ble moment,  when  the  volumes  of  fiery  smoke  roll 
away,  and  over  the  masts  of  that  sixty-gun  ship,  whose 
batteries  are  blazing  upon  the  hill,  you  behold  Mr. 
Blackstone's  farm  changed  to  an  ill-built  town  of  about 
two  thousand  dwelling  houses,  mostly  of  wood  ;  with 
scarce  any  public  buildings,  but  eight  or  nine  churches, 
the  old  State  House,  and  Faneuil  Hall ;  Roxbury  be- 
yond, an  insignificant  village ;  a  vacant  marsh  in  all 
the  space  now  occupied  by  Cambridgeport  and  East 
Cambridge,  by  Chelsea  and  East  Boston ;  and  beneath 
your  feet  the  town  of  Charlestown,  consisting  in  the 
morning  of  a  line  of  about  three  hundred  houses,  wrap- 
ped in  a  sheet  of  flames  at  noon,  and  reduced  at  even 
tide  to  a  heap  of  ashes. 

"  But  those  fires  are  kindled  on  the  altar  of  liberty. 
American  Independence  is  established.  American 
Commerce  smiles  on  the  spot ;  and  now  from  the  top  of 
one  of  the  triple  hills  of  Mr.  Blackstone's  farm,  a 
stately  edifice  arises,  which  seems  to  invite  us  as  to  an 
observatory.  As  we  look  down  from  this  lofty  structure, 
we  behold  the  third  picture — a  crowded,  .busy  scene 
We  see  beneath  us  a  city  containing  eighty  t>r  ninety 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  mainly  built  of  brick  and 
granite.  Vessels  of  every  description  are  moored  al 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  81 

*"  -     " 

the  wharves.  Long  lines  of  commodious  and  even 
stately  houses  cover  a  space  which,  within  the  memory 
of  man,  wfcs  in  a  state  of  nature.  Substantial  blocks 
of  warehouses  and  stores  have  forced  their  way  to  the 
channel.  Faneuil  Ha41  itself,  the  consecrated  and  un- 
changeable, has  swelled  to  twice  its  original  dimensions. 
Atheneums,  hospitals,  asylums,  and  infirmaries,  adorn 
the  streets.  The  school  house  rears  its  modest  front  in- 
every  quarter  of  the  city,  and  sixty  or  seventy  churches 
attest  the  children  are  content  to  walk  in  the  good  old 
ways  of  their  fathers.  Connected  with  the  city  by 
eight  bridges,  avenues,  or  ferries,  you  behold  a  range  of 
to'wns  most  of  them  municipally  distinct,  but  all  of  them 
in  reality  forming,  with  Boston,  one  vast  metropolis, 
animated  by  one  commercial  life.  Shading  off  from 
these,  you  see  that  most  lovely  back-ground,  a  succes- 
sion of -happy  settlements,  spotted  with  villas,  farm 
houses,  and  cottages ;  united  to  Bos-ton  by  a  constant 
intercourse  ;  sustaining  the  capital  from  their  fields  and 
gardens,  and  prosperous  in  the  reflux  of  the  city's 
wealth.  Of  the  social  life  included  within  this  circuit, 
and  of  all  that  in  times  past  has  adorned  and  ennobled 
it,  commercial  industry  has  been  an  active  element,  and 
has  exalted  itself  by  an  intimate  association  with  every 
thing  else  we  hold  dear.  Within  this  circuit  what  me- 
morials strike  the  eye ! — what  recollections — what  insti- 
tutions— what  patriotic  treasures  and  names  that  cannot 
die!  There  lie  the  canonized  precincts  of  Lexington 
and  Concord  ;  there  rise  the  sacred  heights  of  Dorches- 
ter and  Concord  ;  there  is  Harvard,  the  ancient  and 
venerable,  foster-child  of  pubji-c  and  private  liberality 


82  LIVING    ORATOB5    IN    AMERICA. 

in- every  part  of  the  State  ;  to  whose  existence  Charles- 
town  gave  the  first  impulse,  to  whose  growth  and  use- 
fulness the  opulence  of  Boston  has  at  all  times  minis- 
tered with  open  hand.  Still  farther  on  than  the  eye  can 
rtfach,  four  lines  of  communication  by  railroad  arrd 
steam  have  within  our  own  day  united  with  the  capital, 
by  bands  of  iron,  a  still  broader  circuit  of  towns  and 
villages.  Hark  to  the  voice  of  life  and  business  which 
sounds  along  the  lines !  While  we  speak,  one  of  them 
is  shooting  onward  to  the  illimitable  West,  and  all  are 
uniting  with  the  other  kindred  enterprises,  to  form  one 
harmonious  and  prosperous  whole*  in  which  town  and 
country,  agriculture  and  manufactures,  labor  and  capital, 
art  and  nature — wrought  and  compacted  into  one  grand 
system — are  constantly  gathering  and  diffusing,  concen- 
trating and  radiating  the  economical,  the  social,  the 
moral  blessings  of  a  liberal  and  diffusive  commerce.'' 

The  second  strong  feature  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Everett,  is  his  acute  sensibility  to  patriotic  associations. 
He  has  developed  this  on  several  great  historical  occa- 
sions. For  instance,  on  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the 
monument  at  Concord,  Massachusetts,  April  19,  1825, 
he  described  the  utility  of  such  memorials  in  the  follow- 
ing eloquent  strain : — 

"  There  is  not  a  people  on  earth  so  abject,  as  to  think 
that  national  courtesy  requires  them  to  hush  up  the  tale 
of  the  glorious  exploits  of  their  fathers  and  countrymen. 
France  is  at  peace  with  Austria  and  Prussia;  but  she 
does  not  demolish  her  beautiful  bridges,  baptized  with 
the  names  of  the  battle  fields,  where  Napoleon  annihi- 
their  armies  ;  nor  tear  down  the  columns,  moulten 


BDWAKD    EVEKETT.  83 

out  ot  the  heaps  of  their  captured  artillery.  England 
is  at  peace  with  France  and  Spain,  but  does  she  sup- 
press the  names  of  Trafalgar  and  the  Nile;  does  she 
overthrow  the  towers  of  Blenheim  castle,  eternal  monu- 
ments of  the  disasters  of  France ;  does  she  tear  down 
from  the  rafters  of  her  chapels,  where  they  have  for 
ages  waved  in  triumph,  consecrated  to  the  God  of  bat- 
tles, the  banners  of  Cressy  and  Agincourt  ? — No  ;  she  is 
wiser ;  wiser,  did  I  say  ?  she  is  truer,  juster  to  the 
memory  of  her  fathers  and  the  spirit  of  her  children. 
The  national  character,  in  some  of  its  most  important 
elements,  must  be  formed,  elevated,  and  strengthened 
from  the  materials  which  history  presents.  Are  we  to 
be  eternally  ringing  the  changes  upon  Marathon  and 
Thermopylae  ;  and  going  back  to  find  in  obscure  texts 
of  Greek  and  Latin  the  great  exemplars  of  patriotic 
virtue  ?  I  rejoice  that  we  can  find  them  nearer  home, 
in  our  own  country,  on  our  own  soil ; — that  strains  of 
the  noblest  sentiment,  that  ever  swelled  in  the  breast  of 
man,  are  breathing  to.  us  out  of  every  page  of  our 
country's  history,  in  the  native  eloquence  of  our  mother 
tongue ; — that  the  colonial  and  the  provincial  councils  of 
America,  exhibit  to  us  models  of  the  spirit  and  cha- 
racter, which  gave  Greece  and  Rome  their  name  and 
their  praise  among  the  nation.  Here  we  ought  to  go 
for  our  instruction  ; — the  lesson  is  plain,  it  is  clear,  it  is 
applicable.  When  we  go  to  ancient  history,  we  are 
bewildered  with  the  difference  of  manners  and  institu- 
tions. We  are  willing  to  pay  our  tribute  of  applause  to 
the  memory  of  Leonidas,  who  fell  nobly  for  his  country, 
in  the  face  of  the  foe.  But  when  we  trace  him  to  his 


g4  LIVING     ORATOfcS    IN    AxMERICA. 

home,  we  are  confounded  at  the  reflection,  that  the 
same  Spartan  heroism  to  which  he  sacrificed  himself  at 
Thermopylae,  would  have  led  him  to  tear  his  only  child, 
it  happened  to  be  a  sickly  babe, — the  very  object  for 
which  all  that  is  kind  and  good  in  man  rise  up  to  plead, 
— from  the  bosom  of  its  mother,  and  carry  it  out  to  be 
eaten  by  the  wolves  of  Taygetus.  We  feel  a  glow  of 
admiration  at  the  heroism  displayed  at  Marathon,  by  the 
ten  thousand  champions  of  invaded  Greece  ;  but  we 
cannot  forget  that  the  tenth  part  of  the  number  were 
slaves,  unchained  from  the  work-shops  and  door-posts 
of  their  masters,  to  go  and  fight  the  battles  of  freedom. 
I  do  not  mean  that  these  examples  are  to  destroy  the 
interest  with  which  we  read  the  history  of  ancient  times; 
they  possibly  increase  that  interest,  by  the  singular  con- 
trast they  exhibit.  But  they  do  warn  us,  if  we  need 
the  warning,  to  seek  our  great  practical  lessons  of  pati  i- 
otism  at  home ;  out  of  the  exploits  and  sacrifices,  of 
which  our  own  country  is  the  theatre  ;  out  of  the  cha- 
racters of  our  own  fathers.  Them  we  know,  the  high- 
souled,  natural,  unaffected, — the  citizen  heroes.  We 
know  what  happy  firesides  they  left  for  the  cheerless 
camp.  We  know  with  what  pacific  habits  they  dared 
the  perils  of  the  field.  There  is  no  mystery,  no  ro- 
mance, no  madness,  under  the  name  of  chivalry,  about 
them.  It  is  all  resolute,  manly  resistance, — for  con- 
science' and  liberty's  sake, — not  merely  of  an  over- 
whelming power,  but  of  all  the  force  of  long-rooted 
habits,  and  the  native  love  of  order  and  peace. 

"  Above  all,  their  blood  calls  to  us  from  the  soil  which 
we  tread,  it  beats  in  our  veins;  it  cries  to  us,  D^* 


EDWARD    EVEKETT.  85 

merely  in  the  thrilling  words  of  one  of  the  first  victims 
in  the  cause, — 'My  sons  scorn  to  be  slaves;' — but  it 
cries  with  a  still  more  moving  eloquence, — '  My  sons, 
forget  not  your  fathers.' " 

On  a  like  occasion,  at  Lexington,  the  19th  (20th)  of 
April,  1835,  he  expressed  himself  in  a  similar  strain  : 

"  And  you,  brave  and  patriotic  men,  whose  ashes  are 
gathered  in  this  humble  place  of  deposit,  no  time  shall 
rob  you  of  the  well-deserved  meed  of  praise  !  You,  too, 
perceived  not  less  clearly  than  the  more  illustrious 
patriots  whose  spirit  you  caught,  that  the  decisive  hour 
had  come.  You  felt  with  them  that  it  could  not, — 
must  not  be  shunned.  You  had  resolved  it  should  not. 
Reasoning,  remonstrance  had  been  tried  ;  from  your 
own  town-meetings,  from  the  pulpit,  from  beneath  the 
arches  of  Faneuil  Hall,  every  note  of  argument,  of  ap- 
peal, of  adjuration,  had  sounded  to  the  foot  of  the  throne, 
and  in  vain.  The  wheels  of  destiny  rolled  on;  the 
great  design  of  Providence  must  be  fulfilled ;  the  issue 
must  be  nobly  met,  or  basely  shunned.  Strange  it  seemed, 
inscrutable  it  was,  that  your  remote  and  quiet  village 
should  be  the  chosen  altar  of  the  first  great  sacrifice. 
But  so  it  was  ; — tfoe  summons  came  and  found  you  wait- 
ing ;  and  here  in  the  centre  of  your  dwelling  places, 
within  sight  of  the  homes  you  were  to  enter  no  more, 
between  the  village  church  where  your  fathers  wor- 
shipped, and  the  grave-yard  where  they  lay  at  rest, 
bravely  and  meekly,  like  Christian  heroes,  you  sealed 
the  cause  with  your  blood.  Parker,  Munroe,  Hadley,  the 
Harringtons,  Muzzy,  Brown  :  alas,  ye  cannot  hear  my 
words; — no  vr>;<vx  but  **>**  <*f  the  archangel. shall  tv»n«»- 


86  LIVING     OKATOttS    IN    AMERICA. 

trate  your  urns ;  but  to  the  end  of  time  your  lemem- 
brance  shall  be  preserved  !  To  the  end  of  time,  the  soil 
whereon  ye  fell  is  holy  ;  and  shall  be  trod  with  rever- 
ence, while  America  has  a  name  among  the  nations ! 

"  And  now  ye  are  going  to  lie  down  beneath  yon  sim- 
ple stone,  which  marks  the  place  of  your  mortal  agony. 
Fit  spot  for  your  last  repose  ! 

Where  should  the  soldier  rest,  but  where  he  fell ! 

"  For  ages  to  come,  the  characters  graven  in  the  endu- 
ring marble  shall  tell  the  unadorned  tale  of  your  sacri- 
fice ;  and  ages  after  that  stone  itself  has  crumbled  into 
dust,  as  inexpressive  as  yours,  history, — undying  history, 
— shall  transmit  the  record !  Aye,  while  the  language 
we  speak  retains  its  meaning  in  the  ears  of  men  ; — 
while  a  sod  of  what  is  now  the  soil  of  America  shall  be 
trod  by  the  foot  of  a  freeman,  your  names  and  your 
memory  shall  be  cherished!" 

Connected  with  Mr.  Everett's  imagination  and  re- 
fined sensibility  to  patriotic  associations,  is  a  third  attri- 
bute yet  more  dignified  ;  it  consists  of  a  capacity  and 
disposition  to  appreciate  every  form  of  exalted  worth. 
Numerous  instances  might  be  adduced,  but  we  shall 
quote  only  two  or  three.  In  his  address  before  the  Lit- 
erary Societies  of  Amherst  College,  August  25,  1835, 
he  described  the  death  of  one  great  man,  and  the  mental 
glories  of  several  others,  in  the  following  eloquent  style : 
"  It  is  plain  that  Copernicus,  like  his  great  contempo- 
rary Columbus,  though  fully  conscious  of  the  boldness 
and  the  novelty  of  his  doctrine,  saw  but  a  part  of  the 
changes  it  was  to  effect  in  science.  After  harboring  in 


KDWARH    EVERETT.  87 

his  bosom  for  long,  long  years,  that  pernicious  heresy, — 
the  solar  system, — he  died  on  the  day  of  the  appearance 
of  his  book  from  the  press.  The  closing  scene  of  his 
life,  with  a  little  help  from  the  imagination,  would  fur- 
nish a  noble  subject  for  an  artist.  For  twenty-five  years, 
he  has  resolved  and  matured  iu  his  mind,  his  system  of 
the  heavens.  A  natural  mildness  of  disposition,  border- 
ing on  timidity,  a  reluctance  to  encounter  controversy, 
and  a  dread  of  persecution,  have  led  him  to  withhold  his ' 
work  from  the  press  ;  and  to  make  known  his  system  but 
to  a  few  confidential  disciples  and  friends.  At  length 
he  draws  near  his  end;  he  is  seventy-three  years  of 
age,  and  he  yields  his  work  on  '  the  revolutions  of  the 
heavenly  orbs'  to  his  friends  for  publication.  The  day, 
at  last,  has  come,  on  which  it  is  to  be  ushered  into  the 
world.  It  is  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1543.  On  that 
day, — the  effect,  no  doubt,  of  the  intense  excitement  of 
his  mind,  operating  upon  an  exhausted  frame, — an  effu- 
sion of  blood  brings  him  to  the  gates  of  the  grave. 
His  last  hour  has  come ;  he  lies  stretched  upon  the  couch, 
from  which  he  will  never  rise,  in  his  apartment  at  the 
Canonry  at  Frauenberg,  in  East  Prussia.  The  beam* 
of  the  setting  sun  glance  through  the  gothic  windows  of 
his  chamber ;  near  his  bed-side  is  the  armillary  sphere, 
which  he  has  contrived,  to  represent  his  theory  of  the 
heavens, — his  picture,  painted  by  himself,  the  amuse- 
ment of  his  earlier  years,  hangs  before  him  ;  beneath  it 
is  his  astrolabe  and  other  imperfect  astronomical  instru- 
ments ;  and  around  him  are  gathered  his  sorrowing  disci- 
ples. The  door  of  his  apartment  opens ; — the  eye  of 
«HP  ^pr>-,.fi"~  -n/.«,  is  turned  to  see  who  enters  :  it  is  a 


83  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

friend,  who  brings  him  the  first -printed  copy  of  his  im. 
mortal  treatise.  He  knows  that  in  that  book  he  contra- 
dicts all  that  had  ever  been  distinctly  taught  by  former 
philosophers ; — he  knows  that  he  has  rebelled  against  the 
sway  of  Ptolemy,  which  the  scientific  world  had  acknow- 
ledged for  a  thousand  years  ; — he  knows  that  the  popular 
mind  will  be  shocked  by  his  innovations ;— he  knows,  that 
the  attempt  will  be  made  to  press  even  religion  into  the 
•service  against  him  ; — but  he  knows  that  his  book  is  true. 
He  is  dying,  but  he  leaves  a  glorious  truth,  as  his  dying 
bequest,  to  the  world.  He  bids  the  friend  who  has 
brought  it,  place  himself  between  his  window  and  his 
bed-side,  that  the  sun's  rays  may  fall  upon  the  precious 
volume,  and  he  may  behold  it  once,  before  his  eye  grows 
dim.  He  looks  upon  it,  takes  it  in  his  hands,  presses  it 
to  his  breast,  and  expires.  But  no,  he  is  not  wholly 
gone!  A  smile  lights  up  his  dying  countenance; — a 
beam  of  returning  intelligence  kindles  in  his  eye  ; — his 
lips  move ; — and  the  friend,  who  leans  over  him,  can 
hear  him  faintly  murmur  the  beautiful  sentiments,  which 
the  Christian  lyrist,  of  a  later  age,  has  so  finely  expressed 
in  verse : — 

*  Ye  golden  lamps  of  heaven,  farewell,  with  all  your  feeble  light! 
Farewell,  thou  ever-changing  moon,  pale  empress  of  the  night! 
And  thou,  refulgent  orb  of  day,  in  brighter  flames  arrayed, 
My  soul,  which  springs  beyond  thy  sphere,  no  more  demands 

thy  aid. 

Ye  stars  are  but  the  shining  dust  of  my  divine  abode, 
The  pavements  of  those  heavenly  courts,  where  I  shall  reign 
with  God.' 

"  So  died  the  great  Columbus  of  the  heavens.     His 
doctrine,  at  first,  for  want  of  a  general  diffusion  ot 


EDWARD    EVERETT. 


knowledge,  forced  its  way  with  difficulty  against  the 
deep-rooted  prejudices  of  the  age.  Tycho  Brahe  at- 
tempted to  restore  the  absurdities  of  the  Ptolemaic  sys- 
tem ;  but  Kepler,  with  a  sagacity,  which  more  than 
atones  for  all  his  strange  fancies,  laid  hold  of  the  theory 
of  Copernicus,  with  a  grasp  of  iron,  and  dragged  it  into 
repute.  Galileo  turned  his  telescope  to  the  heavens,  and 
observed  the  phases  of  Venus,  which  Copernicus  boldly 
predicted  must  be  discovered,  as  his  theory  required 
their  appearance  ;  and  lastly  Newton  arose,  like  a  glori- 
ous sun,  scattering  the  mist  of  doubt  and  opposition,  and 
ascended  the  heavens  full  orbed  and  cloudless,  establish- 
ing at  once  his  own  renown  and  that  of  his  predecessors, 
and  crowned  with  the  applauses  of  the  world ;  but 
declaring,  with  that  angelic  modesty  which  marked  his 
character,  '  I  do  not  know  what  J  may  appear  to  the 
world  ;  but  to  myself  I  seem  to  have  been  only  like  a 
boy,  playing  on  the  sea-shore,  and  diverting  myself  in 
finding  now  and  then  a  pebble,  or  prettier  shell  than  or- 
dinary, while  the  great  ocean  of  truth  lay  all  undis- 
covered before  me.' " 

But  of  all  Mr.  Everett's  eloquent  productions,  the  one 
most  pertinent  to  the  topic  now  under  consideration,  is 
his  eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson,  delivered  at  Charles- 
town,  August  1,  1826.  In  this  he  said: 

"  The  jubilee  of  America  is  turned  into  rriourning. 
Its  joy  is  mingled  with  sadness ;  its  silver  trumpet 
breathes  a  mingled  strain.  Henceforward  and  for  ever, 
while  America  exists  among  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
the  first  emotion  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  shall  be  of  joy 
and  triumph  in  the  great  event  which  immortalizes  tho 


00  LIVI.VG    OUATORS    IN     AMERICA. 

day, — the  second  shall  be  one  of  chastised  and  tender 
recollection  of  the  venerable  men,  who  departed  on  the 
morning  of  the  jubilee.  This  mingled  emotion  of 
triumph  and  sadness  has  sealed  the  moral  beauty  and 
sublimity  of  our  great  anniversary.  In  the  simple  com- 
memoration of  a  victorious  political  achievement,  there 
seems  not  enough  to  occupy  all  our  purest  and  best  feel- 
ings. The  fourth  of  July  was  before  a  day  of  unshaded 
triumph,  exultation,  and  national  pride :  but  the  angel 
of  death  has  mingled  in  the  all-glorious  pageant,  to  teach 
us  we  are  men.  Had  our  venerated  fathers  left  us  on 
any  other  day,  the  day  of  the  united  departure  of  two 
such  men  would  henceforward  have  been  remembered 
but  as  a  day  of  mourning.  But  now,  while  their  de- 
cease has  gently  chastened  the  exultations  of  the 
triumphant  festival ;  the  banner  of  independence  will 
wave  cheerfully  over  the  spot  where  they  repose.  The 
whole  nation  feels,  as  with  one  heart,  that  since  it  must 
sooner  or  later  have  been  bereaved  of  its  revered 
fathers,  it  could  not  have  wished  that  any  other  had 
been  the  day  of  their  decease.  Our  anniversary  festival 
was  before  triumphant;  it  is  now  triumphant  and 
sacred.  It  before  called  out  the  young  and  ardent,  to 
join  in  the  public  rejoicings;  it  now  also  speaks,  in  a 
touching  voice,  to  the  retired,  to  the  grey-headed,  to  the 
mild  and  peaceful  spirits,  to  the  whole  family  of  sober 
freemen.  With  some  appeal  of  joy,  of  admiration,  of 
tenderness,  it  henceforth  addresses  every.  American 
heart.  It  is  henceforward,  what  the  dying  Adams  pro- 
nounced it,  a  great  and  a  good  day.  It  is  full  of  great- 
ness, and  full  of  goodness.  It  is  absolute  and  complete. 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  91 

The  death  of  the  men,  who  declared  oui  independence 
— their  death  on  the  day  of  the  jubilee,  was  all  that  was 
wanting  to  the  fourth  of  July.  To  die  on  that  day,  and 
to  die  together,  was  all  that  was  wanting  to  Jefferson 
and  Adams. 

"  Think  not,  fellow  citizens,  that  in  the  mere  formal  dis- 
charge of  my  duty  this  day,  I  would  overrate  the  melan- 
choly interest  of  the  great  occasion.  Heaven  knows,  I 
do  anything  but  intentionally  overrate  it.  I  labor  only 
for  words,  to  do  justice  to  your  feelings  and  to  mine. 
I  can  say  nothing,  which  does  not  sound  as  cold,  as 
tame,  and  as  inadequate  to  myself  as  to  you.  The 
theme  is  too  great  and  too  Surprising,  the  men  are  too 
great  and  good  to  be  spoken  of,  in  this  cursory  manner. 
There  is  too  much  in  the  contemplation  of  their  united 
characters,  their  services,  the  day  and  coincidence  of 
their  death,  to  be  properly  described,  Or  to  be  fully  felt 
at  once.  I  dare  not  come  here  and  dismiss,  in  a  few 
summary  paragraphs,  tlie  characters  of  men,  who  have 
filled  such  a  space  in  the  history  of  their  age.  It  would 
be  a  disrespectful  familiarity  with  men  of  their  lofty 
spirits,  their  rich  endowments,  their  deep  counsels,  and 
wise  measures,  their  long  and  honorable  lives,  to  endea- 
vor thus  to  weigh  and  estimate  them.  I  leave  that 
arduous  task,  to  the  genius  of  kindred  elevation,  by 
whom  to-morrow  it  will  be  discharged.*  I  feel  the 
mournful  contrast  in  the  fortunes  of  the  first  and  best  of 
men,  that  after  a  life  in  the  highest  walks  of  usefulness  ; 
after  conferring. benefits,  not  merely  on  a  neighborhood, 

•  An  Eulogy  was  delivered  on  Adams  and  Jefferson,  on  the  follow* 
'     ing  dav  ;n  Faneuil  Hall,  by  Daniel  Webster. 

' 


92  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

a  city,  or  even  a  state,  but  on  a  whole  continent,  and  a 
posterity  of  kindred  men  ;  after  having  stood  in  the 
first  estimation  for  talents,  services,  and  influence, 
among  millions  of  fellow  citizens,  a  day  should  come, 
which  closes  all  up;  pronounces  a  brief  blessing  on  their 
memory;  gives  an  hour  lo  the  actions  of  a  crowded 
life ;  describes  in  a  sentence  what  it  took  years  to  bring 
to  pass,  and  what  is  destined  for  years  and  ages  to  con- 
tinue and  operate  on  posterity  ;  forces  into  a  few  words 
the  riches  of  busy  days  of  action  and  weary  nights  of 
meditation  ;  passes  forgetfully  over  many  traits  of  char- 
acter, many  counsels  and  measures,  which  it  cost  per- 
haps years  of  discipline  and  effort  to  mature ;  utters  a 
funeral  prayer ;  chants  a  mournful  anthem  ;  and  then 
dismisses  all  into  the  dark  chambers  of  death  and 
forgetfulness. 

"  But,  no,  fellow  citizens,  we  dismiss  them  not  to  the 
chambers  of  forgetfulness  and  death.  What  we  ad- 
mired, and  prized,  and  venerated  in  them,  can  never  die, 
nor  dying,  be  forgotten.  I  had  almost  said  that  they  are 
now  beginning  to  live  ;  to  live  that  life  of  unimpaired 
influence,  of  unclouded  fame,  of  unmingled  happiness, 
for  which  their  talents  and  services  were  destined. 
They  were  of  the  select  few,  the  least  portion  of  whose 
life  dwells  in  their  physical  existence  ;  whose  hearts  have 
watched,  while  their  senses  have  slept ;  whose  souls 
have  grown  up  into  a  higher  being ;  whose  pleasure  is 
to  be  useful ;  whose  wealth  is  an  unblemished  reputa- 
tion ;  who  respire  the  breath  of  honorable  fame  ;  who 
have  deliberately  and  consciously  put  what  is  called  life 
to  hazard,  that  they  may  live  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  93 

come  after.  Such  men  do  not,  cannot  die.  To  be  cold, 
and  motion)ess:  and  breathless ;  to  feel  not  and  speak, 
not ;  this  is  not  the  end  of  existence  to  the  men  who  have 
breathed  their  spirits  into  the  institutions  of  their  coun 
try,  who  have  stamped  their  characters  on  the  pillars  of 
the  age,  who  have  poured  their  hearts'  blood  into  the 
channels  of  the  public  prosperity.  Tell  me,  ye,  who 
tread  the  sods  of  yon  sacred  height,  is  Warren  dead  ? 
Can  you  not  still  see  him,  not  pale  and  prostrate,  the 
blood  of  his  gallant  heart  pouring  out  of  his  ghastly 
wound,  but  moving  resplendent  over  the  field  of  honor, 
with  the  rose  of  heaven  upon  his  cheek,  and  the  fire  of 
liberty  in  his  eye  ?  Tell  me,  ye,  who  make  your  pious 
pilgrimage  to  the  shades  of  Vernon,  is  Washington  in- 
deed shut  up  in  that  cold  and  narrow  house  ?  That 
which  made  these  men,  and  men  like  these,  cannot  die. 
The  hand  that  traced  the  charter  of  independence  is 
indeed  motionless,  the  eloquent  lips  that  sustained  it  are 
hushed  ;  but  the  lofty  spirits  that  conceived,  resolved, 
matured,  maintained  it,  and  which  alone  to  such  men, 
'  make  it  life  to  live/  these  cannot  expire  ; — 

'  These  shall  resist  the  empire  of  decay, 
When  time  is  o'er,  and  worlds  have  passed  away  : 
Cold  in  the  dust,  the  perished  heart  may  lie, 
But  that,  which  warmed  it  once,  can  never  die.'  " 

Having  presented  the  foregoing  outlines  of  Mr. 
Everett's  professional  career,  with  diversified  extracts 
from  his  works  to  exemplify  the  more  prominent  traits 
of  his  mind,  we  come  now  to  the  more  delicate  task  of 
projecting  a  specific  analysis  of  his  eloquence.  We 


94  LIVING    OBATORd    IN    AMERICA. 

have  endeavored  to  show  What  he  has  been  and  is  as  a 
scholar,  divine,  professor,  politician,  and  popular  writer: 
it  remains  to  inquire  into  his  merits  as  an  orator.  If 
we  mistake  not,  they  will  be  found  to  consist  mainly  in 
natural  taste,  cultivated  talent,  and  consummate  art. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  evident  that  Mr.  Everett  was 
naturally  endowed  with  acute  and  discriminating  taste. 
This  quality  highly  refined,  and  grace  of  conception,  are 
among  his  best  elements  of  oratorical  character ;  and, 
as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  these  go  hand  in  hand 
with  elaborate  execution  and  delicate  finish.  They  are 
attributes  both  elegant  and  appropriate,  "  like  to  those 
hanging  locks  of  young  Apollo." 

He  may  have  more  of  that  taste  which  is  skillful  to 
use,  than  of  the  genius  which  is  powerful  to  originate  ; 
but  this  regulating  faculty  is  doubtless  of  great  value  ; 
indeed,  without  it  genius  itself  is  but  sublime  madness. 
It  is  an  attribute  which,  in  its  perfection,  is  as  uncom- 
mon as  it  is  useful ;  since,  as  Chateaubriand  remarks, 
"the  sure  touch  which  draws  from  the  lyre  the  exact 
tone  it  ought  to  render,  is  more  rare  than  even  the  fa- 
culty  that  creates."  Talent  and  genius,  diversely  dif- 
fused, latent  and  unrecognized,  as  Montesquieu  says, 
"  frequently  pass  through  us  without  unpacking,"  they 
exist  in  equal  proportions  in  all  ages,  but  in  the  course 
of  those  ages,  it  is  only  among  certain  natures,  and  at 
certain  periods  of  time,  that  taste  is  developed  in  its 
purity.  Before  this  period  arrives,  and  after  its  conclu- 
sion, all  will  be  imperfect  through  deficiency  or  excess. 
Hence  the  reason  why  finished  productions  are  so  rare ; 
for  they  must  necessarily  emanate  from  the  happy  union 


EDWARD    EVEEETT.  95 

of  taste  and  genius.  But  this  rare  concurrence,  like 
the  concurrence  of  certain  stars,  seems  to  require  the 
revolution  of  ages  for  its  consummation,  and  then  its 
duration  is  but  momentary." 

Suppose  a  clear  and  gentle  stream  flowing  through  a 
cultivated  glade,  on  a  bed  of  the  purest  gravel;  its  bank 
generally  smooth  and  level,  sometimes  indented  and 
varied  in  height,  but  with  all  rudeness  concealed  by 
tufts  of  flowers,  fragrant  shrubs,  elegant  trees,  and  trail- 
ing plants  hanging  over  the  clear  waters  ;  while  all  the 
delicious  objects  are  rendered  yet  more  soft  and  enchant- 
ing by  the  clear  mirror  that  reflects  them,  like  Milton's 
limped  fountain  in  Paradise 

"Spread 

Into  a  liquid  plain,  then  stood  unmoved, 
Pure  as  the  expanse  of  heaven  :" 

and  in  such  a  picture  we  have  a  fair  type  of  Mr. 
Everett's  mind.  Like  all  his  faculties,  his  taste  is  doubt- 
less greatly  indebted  to  intense  and  protracted  cultiva- 
tion, but  its  latent  source  in  his  own  bosom  has  alwrays 
been  open,  flowing,  and  cure.  His  earliest  compositions 
were  highly  poetical  in  both  spirit  and  form,  and  to  this 
day  everything  from  his  pen  is  "  veined  with  gold  and 
dusted  o'er  with  gems."  Glancing  back  through  all  his 
brilliant  career  to  its  obscure  beginning,  he  undoubt- 
edly may  say  : 

u  Oh,  I  remember  well ! 

When,  like  a  sea-shell  with  its  sea-born  strain, 
My  soul  aye  rang  with  music  of  the  lyre ; 
And  my  heart  shed  its  love  as  leaves  their  dew — 
A  honey  dew,  and  throve  on  what  it  shed." 


96  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

-  Secondly,  in  addition  to  native  taste,  it  is  evident  that 
Mr.  Everett  possesses  a  large  measure  of  cultivated  tal- 
ent. He  is  not  only  endowed  by  nature  with  great 
acuteness  of  mental  perception  and  moral  sensibility,  but 
he  has  laboriously  acquired  that  fidelity  of  hand  which, 
aided  by  these  powers,  imparts  precision,  symmetry,  and 
beauty  to  all  his  works.  He  is  an  illustrious  instance 
showing  what  perseverance,  study,  observation  and 
patronage  can  achieve  to  develop  genius  or  supply  its 
spontaneous  worth. 

Hazlitt  has  said  that  great  natural  advantages  are  sel- 
dom combined  with  great  acquired  ones,  because  they 
render  the  labor  requisite  to  attain  the  last  superfluous 
and  irksome.  It  is  only  necessary  to  be  admired  ;  and 
if  we  are  admired  for  the  graces  of  our  persons,  we  shall 
not  be  at  much  pains  to  adorn  our  minds*  To  substan- 
tiate this  position,  he  adds  that  if  Pope  had  been  a  beau- 
tiful youth,  he  would  not  have  written  the  Rape  of  the 
Lock  ;  and  that  a  beautiful  woman,  who  has  only  to 
show  herself  to  be  admired ;  and  is  famous  by  nature, 
will  be  in  no  danger  of  becoming  a  blue  stocking,  to* at- 
tract notice  by  her  learning,  or  to  hide  her  defects.  To 
this  it  may  be  replied  that  Milton  was  a  beautiful  youth, 
and  yet  he  wrote  Paradise  Lost;  moreover,  that  the 
greatest  poets,  artists,  scholars  and  orators  of  every  age, 
have  been  the  most  industrious  in  acquiring  and  compo- 
sing ;  however  brilliant  their  imaginations,  however  in- 
tense their  capacities,  or  harmonious  their  expressions, 
it  was  the  superior  power  of  arranging  their  materials, 
which  rendered  their  genius  most  useful  to  their  fellow- 
beings.  Without  the  lucidus  ordo  of  Horace,  the 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  97 

superb  ideas  are  of  little  use  to  the  world.  "  He  hath 
no  power,  who  hath  no  power  to  use,"  and  this  master- 
ship is  acquired  only  by  long  practice. 

Not  that  labor  alone  can  produce  perfection.  Industry 
will  improve  mediocrity,  but  can  never  elevate  it  to  the 
highest  excellence,  by  endowing  it  with  the  power  to  in- 
vent. Susceptibility  to  the  beauty  of  expression,  or  the 
vivid  portraiture  of  the  passions,  may  be  keenly  felt  by  the 
spirit  naturally  of  a  delicate  tone,  but  cannot  be  taught, 
even  if  the  teacher  were  an  angel  from  heaven.  Still, 
we  think  it  truly  said  above,  that  persons  in  every  exalted 
sphere  who  are  by  native  attributes  best  endowed,  are 
generally  the  most  industrious.  No  men  are  more  con- 
scious of  the  weakness  of  human  nature  than  they,  and 
none  feel  more  deeply  that  whatever  their  latent  genius 
may  be,  nothing  but  the  most  incessant  industry  and 
application,  can  fully  reveal  it.  For  instance,  to  refer 
to  an  artist,  whom  our  orator  in  many  respects  greatly 
resembles,  Claude  never  left  his  pictures,  or  his  studies 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  to  go  in  search  of  meaner  en- 
joyments, or  ceased  to  gaze  upon  the  glittering  sunny 
vales  and  distant  hills ;  and  while  his  eye,  naturally 
acute,  became  still  better  educated,  while  he  scanned 
the  clear  sparkling  hues  and  lovely  forms  of  Nature,  his 
hand  delineated  them  on  the  lucid  canvass  in  colors  that 
seem  destined  never  to  decay. 

The  career  of  Mr.  Everett  shows  that  while  yet  a 
youth,  he  comprehended  and  acted  upon  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  Apelles — "  Nulla  dies  sine  lined  ;"*  and  still  more 
glorious  maxim  of  Napoleon — "  Une  heure  perdue  est 
*  Not  a  day  without  practice. 


98  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

une  chance  pour  le  malheur  de  I'  avemr."*  Thus  feel- 
ing and  acting,  like  all  brave  souls  before  him,  he  has 
demonstrated  in  his  own  person  that  no  force  of  law, 
prejudice,  or  penury  can  arrest  the  predestined  hero  in 
his  strenuous  pursuit,  or  prevent  him  from  gratifying 
his  burning  ambition  to  advance  the  divine  art  he  was 
born  to  honor,  and  of  which  he  is  the  impassioned 
devotee.  To  such  a  votary,  excellence  is  truly  "  a  rul- 
ing passion,"  and  closes  his  eyes  at  night  with  aspira- 
tions for  ultimate  success  ;  haunts  his  slumbers  with 
dreams  of  unattained  perfection,  and  flashes  invincible 
energy  on  his  brain  at  the  dawn  of  every  morning 
thought.  It  was  under  this  influence  that  Shakspeare 
saw  the  ghost  of  a  king :  Puck  put  a  girdle  round  about 
the  earth  in  forty  minutes ;  Ariel  drank  the  air  before 
him ;  Homer  measured  the  gigantic  stride  of  the  shade 
of  Achilles  in  hell,  when  Ulysses  told  him  his  son  was 
worthy  of  his  sire.  It  was  when  thus  inspired,  that 
blind  Milton  saw  and  portrayed  the  effulgent  blaze  of 
Satan,  in  the  midst  of  his  astonished  council,  after  his 
success  on  earth ;  Virgil  that  glorious  vision  of  Minerva, 
shouting  to  the  Greeks  in  the  flames  of  Troy  ;  and 
Tasso  that  exquisite  conception  of  the  angel  Gabriel 
tipping  the  hills  as  the  sun  arose  with  commingled  hues 
of  silver  and  gold.  To  attain  the  highest  order  of  suc- 
cess, undoubtedly  a  stupendous  power  must  be  acquired, 
and  all  but  insurmountable  anxieties,  labors  and  strug- 
gles, must  be  overcome.  But  if  the  aspirant  proceed 
humbly,  and  yet  firmly,  on  his  upward  way,  his  reward 

*  One  hour  idled  away  jeopardizes  the  happinesa  of  all  lh« 
future. 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  99 

will  be  both  sure  and  great,  for  his  mind  will  become 
impregnated  with  power,  and  his  hand  fearless  by  prac- 
tice, so  that  glorious  visions  cannot  rise  more  rapidly  on 
his  fancy  than  he  will  shower  them  with  inspired  pro- 
fusion on  the  enraptured  hearts  and  understandings  of 
mankind. 

Mr.  Everett  early  began  to  "hold  high  converse  with 
the  mighty  dead  ;"  and  while  he  aimed  to  become  a 
finished  writer  and  effective  public  speaker,  he  under- 
stood what  were  the  objects  to  be  promoted,  and  the 
duties  to  be  performed,  in  order  to  the  complete  attain- 
ment of  the  excellence  he  desired.  He  saw  what  pains 
were  thought  due  by  a  Roman  statesman  and  orator,  to 
the  acquisition  of  the  art,  as  he  read  in  his  favorite  au- 
thor, the  following  extract  from  De  Claris  Oratoribus  : 

"  The  other  chief  orators  of  the  day,"  says  Cicero, 
"being  then  in  the  magistracy,  were  almost  daily  heard 
by  me  in  their  public  discourses.  Curio  was  then  tribune 
of  the  people,  but  never  spoke,  having  once  been  deserted 
by  his  audience  in  a  mass.  Quintus  Metellus  Celer 
though  not  an  orator,  was  not  wholly  unable  to  speak  . 
Varius,  Carbo,  and  Pomponius  were  eloquent,  and  they 
were  continually  upon  the  rostrum.  Caius  Julius,  also, 
the  curule  sedile,  almost  daily  made  a  set  speech.  My 
passion  for  listening  received  its  first  disappointment 
when  Cotta  was  banished  ;  but  in  diligent  attendance  on 
the  other  orators,  I  not  only  devoted  a  part  of  each  day 
to  reading,  writing,  and  discussing;  but  extended  my 
studies  beyond  the  exercises  of  oratory,  to  philosophy 
and  the  law.  In  the  following  year,  Varius  was  banished 
under  his  own  law.  In  the  study  of  the  civil  law,  I  em- 


100  LIVING    ORATORd    IN    AMERICA. 

ployea  myself  under  Scsevola,  who,  although  he  did  not 
formally  receive  pupils,  was  willing  to  admit  those  who 
desired  it,  to  be  present  while  he  gave  legal  opinions  to 
his  clients.  The  next  year,  Sylla  and  Pompey  were 
consuls,  and  I  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
whole  art  of  public  speaking,  in  listening  to  the  daily 
harangues  of  the  tribune  Sulpicius.  At  the  same  time. 
Philo,  the  head  of  the  academy,  having,  with  the  rest  of 
the  aristocracy  of  Athens,  fled  to  Rome  in  the  Mithrida- 
tic  war,  I  gave  myself  wholly  up  to  him  and  the  study 
of  philosophy,  not  merely  from  the  delight  I  felt  in  the 
variety  and  magnitude  of  the  subject,  but  because  the 
career  of  judicial  eloquence  seemed  for  ever  shut  up. 
Sulpicius  had  fallen  that  year,  and  in  the  next,  three  other 
orators  were  most  cruelly  slain ;  Catulus,  Antony,  and 
Julius.  The  same  year,  I  employed  myself  under  the 
direction  of  Molo  the  Rhodian,  a  consummate  pleader 
and  teacher.  I  mention  these  things,  Brutus,  although 
somewhat  aside  from  our  purpose,  that  you  might,  as 
you  desired,  become  acquainted  with  my  course,  and 
perceive  the  manner  in  which  I  followed  in  the  steps  of 
Hortensius.  For  three  years,  the  city  had  respite  from 
war,  but  the  orators  were  deceased,  retired,  or  banished  ; 
even  Crassus  and  the  two  Lentuli  were  absent.  Hor- 
tensius then  took  the  lead  as  counsd ;  Antistius  daily 
rose  in  reputation;  Piso  spoke  often,  Pomponius  less 
frequently,  Carbo  rarely,  Philippus  once  or  twice.  All 
this  time,  I  was  occupied  day  and  night,  in  every  kind  of 
study.  I  studied  with  the  stoic  Diodotus,  who,  after  hav- 
ing long  lived  with  me,  lately  died  at  my  house.  By 
him  I  was  trained,  among  other  things,  in  logic,  itself  a 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  101 

kind  of  close  and  compendous  eloquence,  without  which 
even  you,  Brutus,  have  admitted,  that  the  true  eloquence* 
which  is  but  expanded  logic,  cannot  be  acquired.  \Vith 
this  teacher,  in  his  numerous  and  various  branches,  I 
was  so  assiduous,  that  I  did  not  miss  a  day  in  oratorical 
exercises.  I  had  also  a  declamatory  discussion,  (to  use 
the  present  phrase)  with  Piso  often,  and  with  Quinfu* 
Pompey,  or  some  one  .else,  every  day.  This  was  fre- 
quently in  Latin,  but  oftener  in  Greek;  both  because 
the  Greek  language,  in  itself  more  adapted  to  ornament, 
tended  to  form  the  habit  of  an  elegant  Latin  manner, 
and  because,  unless  I  used  the  Greek  language,  I  could 
neither  receive  instruction  nor  correction  from  eminent 
Greek  teachers.  Meantime  followed  the  tumults  for  the 
restoration  of  the  republic  ;  the  cruel  deaths  of  the  three 
orators,  Scaevola,  Carbo,  and  Antistius  ;  the  return  of 
Cotta,  Curio,  Crassus,  the  Lentuli,  and  Pompey;  the 
establishment  of  the  laws  and  the  tribunals ;  in  a  word, 
the  restoration  of  the  Commonwealth.  Of  the  orators, 
however,  Pomponius,  Censorinus,  and  Murena,  perished. 
I  then,  for  the  first  time,  undertook  the  pleading  both  of 
public  and  private  causes ;  not,  as  is  commonly  done, 
learning  my  profession  in  the  practice  of  it,  but,  as  far 
as  I  had  been  able  to  effect  it,  entering  the  forum 
with  my  profession  learned.  At  the  same  time  I 
studied  under  Molo,  who  had  come  to  Rome,  in  Sylla's 
dictatorship,  on  business  of  the  Rhodians.  My  first 
public  cause,  therefore,  the  defence  of  Sextus  Roscius, 
was  so  commended,  that  there  was  none  which  I  was  not 
thought  competent  to  undertake.  Many  causes  were 


102  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

now  put  into  my  hands,  which  I  brought  into  court,  not 
merely  diligently,  but  laboriously  prepared. 

"And  now,  since  you  seem  to  wish  to  learn  my 
history  thoroughly,  I  will  mention  some  things,  which 
might  otherwise  seem  unimportant.  At  this  period,  I 
labored  under  extreme  emaciation  and  weakness  of  body ; 
my  neck  was  long  and  slender,  and  my  whole  frame  and 
constitution  such  as  are  usually  thought  to  render  the  vio- 
lent exercise  of  the  lungs  fatal.  This  circumstance  was 
matter  of  the  greater  anxiety  to  my  friends,  because  I  was 
in  the  habit  of  speaking  everything  on  a  high  key,  with 
out  variety,  with  the  utmost  power  of  voice  and  exer- 
tion of  my  body.  When,  therefore,  my  friends  and 
physicians  advised  me  to  abandon  pleading,  I  determined 
to  encounter  any  danger,  rather  than  give  up  the  re- 
nown which  I  hoped  to  acquire  as  an  orator.  Having, 
however,  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  by  reducing  and 
managing  the  voice,  and  changing  my  mode  of  speaking, 
T  could  escape  the  impending  danger,  I  determined,  for 
the  sake  of  altering  my  manner,  to  visit  Asia.  Accord- 
ingly, after  having  been  two  years  in  the  practice  of 
my  profession,  and  acquiring  a  standing  in  the  forum,  I 
left  Rome.  When  I  came  to  Athens,*!  devoted  myself 
six  months,  under  Antiochus,  a  most  noble  and  prudent 
sage  of  the  old  academy,  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  a 
study  which  I  had  early  cultivated,  had  never  lost  sight 
of,  and  now  renewed  under  this  admirable  teacher.  At 
the  same  time,  however,  I  practised  speaking  diligently, 
under  Demetrius,  the  Syrian,  an  experienced  and  re- 
spectable teacher  of  the  art.  I  afterwards  made  the 
tour  of  Asia,  with  orators  of  the  first  celebrity,  under 


EinVARL)    EVERETT  103 

whom,  with  their  full  assent,  I  regularly  exercised 
myself  in  speaking.  The  chief  of  these  was  Menippus 
of  Stratonice,  in  my  opinion  the  most  eloquent  Asiatic 
orator  of  his  time,  and,  if  to  be  free  from  everything 
offensive  or  impertinent  be  the  test  of  Atticism,  not 
unworthy  to  be  reckoned  among  Attic  orators.  I  was, 
also  constantly  with  Dionysius,  of  Magnesia,  ^Eschylus,  of 
Enidus,  and  Xenocles,  of  Adramyttium ;  the  principal 
rhetoricians  at  that  time  in  Asia.  Not  satisfied  with 
these,  I  repaired  to  Rhodes,  and  applied  myself  to  Milo, 
who  had  instructed  me  at  Rome,  who  was  not  only  a 
pleader  himself,  in  real  causes,  and  an  eminent  writer, 
but  most  discreet  in  remarking  and  correcting  faults  as 
an  instructor.  He  exerted  himself,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
reduce  my  manner,  redundant  as  it  was,  and  overflow- 
ing with  juvenile  license  and  excess;  and  sought  to 
bring  it  within  proper  limits.  After  spending  two  years 
in  this  way,  I  returned,  not  merely  trained,  but  altered. 
The  extreme  effort  of  my  voice  in  speaking  was 
reduced.  My  style  had  become  temperate,  my  lungs 
strong,  and  my  general  health  tolerable." 

The  above  description  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  taste  and  studies  of  the  American  Cicero,  in  his 
early  days,  and  vividly  portrays  the  maturity  which  he, 
too,  attained  by  means  of  his  European  and  Asiatic  tour. 

We  come  now,  in  the  third  place,  lo  consider  the 
consummate  art  which  Mr.  Everett  displays  in  all  his 
eloquence,  \vritten  or  spoken.  His  personal  appearance 
in  public  is  exceedingly  neat,  appropriate  and  conciliat- 
ing. Everything  about  him  is  so  well  arranged  that, 
although  an  edging  of  silver  marks  his  hair,  and  mantles 


104  LIVING    OEATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

his  pensive  brow,  one  cannot  but  feel  that  he  has  not 
yet  entirely  dismissed  his  Lothario  recollections.  The 
moment  he  rises  to  speak,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  he 
is  an  accomplished  gentleman ;  and  before  he  has 
uttered  many  sentences,  the  intelligent  hearer  is  equally 
convinced  that  he  is  an  accomplished  orator.  His 
voice  and  placid  manner  of  delivery  are  in  harmony 
with  the  mild  character  of  his  sentiments.  A  calm 
richness  pervades  his  style,  by  means  of  which  he  soon 
throws  a  spell  over  the  hearts  of  listeners,  leading  them 
inwardly  to  exclaim, 

"Thy  talk  is  the  sweet  extract  of  all  speech, 
And  holds  mine  ear  in  blissful  slavery.-1 

Mr.  Everett's  originality  is  evinced  less  in  the  vio- 
lent outbursts  of  rugged  and  irrepressible  affluence,  than 
in  his  artistic  power  over  materials  deliberately  gathered 
— in  his  calm  command  over  the  resources  of  language, 
and  in  the  suavity  of  his  style,  which  is  seldom  surpassed. 
It  is  not  congenial  for  him  to  be  severe — his  good  taste 
and  labored  care  will  still  be  manifest.  Witness  the 
following  memorable  extract.  Some  one  in  the  London 
Quarterly  Review,  for  January,  1828,  had  slurringly  in- 
timated that  the  first  emigrants  to  America  were  crimi- 
nals in  character,  and  mercenary  in  design.  To  this 
Mr.  Everett  replied : 

"  A  late  English  writer  has  permitted  himself  to  say, 
that  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  of  the  colony  of  Botany  Bay,  were  pretty  nearly 
modelled  on  the  same  plan.  The  meaning  of  this  slan- 
derous insinuation  is,  that  the  United  States  were  settled 


. 
EDWARD    EVERETT.  11  J 

for  the  wealth  of  intellect  they  display,  but  have  not  the 
greatest  power  to  touch  the  heart  or  impel  the  judgment, 
being  deficient  alike  in  soul-stirring  thought  and  depth 
of  feeling.  They  may  be  full  of  labored  smoothness 
and  harmonized  erudition,  but  they  are,  after  all,  ineffi- 
cient on  the  general  mind,  because  they  are  sterile  of 
genuine  pathos  and  melody.  A  loftier  endowment  is 
requisite  to  substitute  in  the  place  of  cold  admiration 
the  more  ardent  sentiments  of  sympathetic  love  and  re- 
sistless force.  Classical  richness,  combined  with  artistic 
elegance,  copious  acquisitions  embodied  in  a  style  pure 
and  mellifluous,  sentences  abounding  in  learned  rhythm 
more  than  in  spontaneous  vigor,  form  the  main  features 
of  this  orator's  eloquence  and  his  best  claims  to  popular 
esteem. 

Rhetorical  grace  is  to  composition  and  delivery,  what 
female  figures  are  to  history -pictures — however  exqui- 
site the  color,  and  perfect  the  light  and  shade,  however 
touching  the  expression,  heroical  the  forms,  and  full  of 
majestic  action,  the  result  will  but  feebly  interest  the 
hearts  of  mankind,  if  the  rays  of  beauty  do  not  irradiate 
at  least  some  portion  of  the  scene.  Over  this  element 
no  one  has  a  more  supreme  control  than  Mr.  Everett. 
His  is  "  the  soft  precision  of  the  clear  Vandyke,"  and 
he  has  executed  works  which,  of  their  kind,  are  "inimi- 
table on  earth  by  model,  or  by  shading  pencil  drawn." 
But  there  is  danger  of  being  too  uniformly  placid  and 
smooth.  Writers  on  art  have  observed  that  roughness, 
in  its  different  modes  and  degrees,  is  the  ornament,  the 
fringe  of  beauty,  that  which  gives  it  life  and  spirit,  and 
preserves  it  from  baldness  and  insipidity.  If  the  shaft 


Ill  LIVIXG    ORATuRS    IX    AMERICA. 

of  a  column  is  smooth,  the  more  ornamental  part,  the 
capita],  is  rough  ;  the  facing  of  the  smoothest  building 
has  a  frize  and  cornice  rough  and  abruptly  projecting  : 
it  is  the  same  in  vases,  and  in  everything  that  admits  of 
ornament.  Hence  Dryden,  when  describing  the  cup 
that  contained  the  heart  of  Guiscard,  calls  it  "  a 
goblet  rich  with  gems,  and  rough  with  gold."  The  per- 
manent attraction  of  an  oration,  like  that  of  a  temple  or 
landscape,  depends  upon  the  happy  union  of  warm  and 
cool  tints,  of  smooth  parts  and  rough,  picturesque  and 
severely  graceful,  solemn  and  gay.  The  most  striking 
effects  are  produced  by  bringing  together  features  totally 
opposite  to  each  other;  but  these  must  be  skillfully 
arranged  and  blended  in  various  degrees,  in  order  to 
produce  that  charm  of  combination,  which  is  manifest 
in  the  consummate  works  of  art  and  nature. 

"  Like  to  some  goddess  hewn  in  stone, 
With  blooming  garlands  bound." 

Too  many  speakers,  like  the  majority  of  painters,  in 
modern  schools,  instead  of  emulating  the  great  masters 
of  Roman  art,  ape  the  Tuscans,  the  main  body  of  whom, 
equally  inattentive  to  expression,  character,  contrast, 
and  propriety  of  form,  it  was  long  ago  said  contented 
themselves  with  giving  to  tame  and  puerile  ideas,  obvi- 
ous and  common-place  conceptions,  a  kind  of  impor- 
tance by  mastery  of  execution  and  a  bold  but  monoto- 
nous and  mannered  outline.  Here  men,  like  their  ex- 
amples in  Holland,  finish  their  works  so  carefully,  be- 
cause there  is  a  want  of  substantial  and  striking  worth 
in  thenvand  they  can  only  be  made  interesting  by  the 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  115 

accurate  delicacy  of  their  execution.  This,  however, 
is  not  the  fault  of  Mr.  Everett.  True,  his  language 
falls  softly  like  a  snow-flake, and  his  sentences  are  "like 
autumn  leaves  distained  with  dusky  gold  ;"  but  his  works, 
if  cool,  are  not  absolutely  cold,  and  his  style,  if  subdued, 
is  yet  rich  with  meaning. 

"  However  bright  or  beautiful  itseli 

The  theme  he  touched,  he  made  it  more  so  by 

His  own  light,  like  a  fire-fly  on  a  flower." 

True  eloquence  transports  the  mind  "  beyond  the 
ignorant  present,"  to  ages  past,  or  ages  yet  to 
come.  It"  leads  the  willing  hearer  by  turns  to  the 
dark  antiquity  of  Egypt,  to  the  tranquillity  of  Arcadian 
scenes  and  fairy  lands,  or  to  the  environs  of  the  great 
capitals  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  depicts  the  universal 
objects  of  literary  and  heroic  worth  so  precious  and 
thrilling  to  every  enlightened  and  cultivated  taste.  This 
power,  also,  Mr.  Everett  possesses  to  a  good  degree,  but 
it  is  as  a  rhetorician  mainly  that  his  charms  are  wrought. 
His  taste,  his  learning,  and  his  elocution  combine  pow- 
erfully to  enchant  the  organs  of  his  hearers,  not  for 
amusement  only,  but  the  more  effectually  to  conduct 
reason  and  motives  to  the  intellect  and  heart.  His  man- 
ner, like  his  matter,  is  elaborated  with  the  greatest  care, 
but  it  does  not  divert  the  public  eye  from  higher  beau- 
ties to  be  absorbed  by  its  lures;  by  so  doing  it  would 
be  degraded  to  a  mere  vehicle  of  sensual  pleasure,  a 
trifling  bauble,  or  a  splendid  fault. 

The  connection  between  mere  beauty  and  insipidity, 
naturalness  and  deformity,  is  so  very  close,  that  it  re- 
quires *he  acutest  eye  habitually  to  observe  what  "  thin 


116  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

partitions  do  their  bounds  divide."  It  is  an  interesting 
fact,  that  while  beauty  of  the  highest  kind  was  attributed 
by  mythological  nations  to  all  the  superior  goddesses, 
and  the  ancient  artists  were  required  to  express  it  in 
their  representations  of  them,  Venus,  the  most  effemi- 
nate of  that  class,  was  the  only  one  invested  with  un- 
substantial blandishments  only;  whereas  Juno,  Pallas, 
Diana,  and  other  deities  were  characterized  with  nobler 
traits,  having  a  mixture  of  awful  majesty,  savoring  of 
wisdom,  warlike  valor,  and  rigid  chastity.  Beauty  and 
force  coalesce  in  true  eloquence  and  glow  with  whole- 
some strength,  like  the  masculine  cheek  of  Minerva, 
tinged  with  maidenly  modesty.  Such  an  orator,  imbued 
with  elegant  thought  and  tender  sensibilities,  appears 
before  an  audience  much  as  Theseus  did  before  Ariadne. 
Philostratus  represents  him  as  being  adorned  with  a 
plain  purple  robe,  wearing  a  garland  of  roses.  His 
whole  air  is  that  of  one  intoxicated  with  love,  calm  in 
its  fullness,  and  absorbed  in  the  admiration  of  beauty. 
Every  attribute  is  laid  aside,  not  perfectly  in  keeping 
with  the  subject  and  place.  He  has  discarded  the  florid 
garment,  the  soft  doe  skin,  and  the  thyrsus.  In  him  is 
seen  only  the  refined  and  yet  impassioned  lover.  His 
companions  are  in  harmony  with  himself.  The  Bac- 
chants do  not  clash  their  cymbals,  the  Fauns  refrain 
from  their  flutes,  and  Pan  moderates  his  leaps,  so  as  not 
unnecessarily  to  alarm  the  beloved.  She  already  feels 
the  charm  of  the  god's  presence,  and  will  soon  be  con- 
ducted by  him  over  the  rocky  plain,  to  cultivated,  fra- 
grant hills,  where,  surrounded  with  readiest  service  and 
celestial  joys,  she  will  taste  of  love  that  will  never  end. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HENRY    CLAY, 

THE  POLITICIAN. 

THE  facts  and  events  which  mark  the  career  of  Mr. 
(  lay  have  frequently  been  portrayed.  Some  of  the 
iiiost  important  of  these  it  will  be  necessary  to  recite  at 
the  outset ;  though  biographical  detail  forms  but  quite  a 
subordinate  element  of  our  present  design. 

The  father  of  our  orator  was  a  very  respectable 
Baptist  preacher,  in  the  County  of  Hanover,  Virginia, 
commonly  known  as  "  The  Slashes,"  where,  on  the  12th 
of  April,  1777,  his  fifth  child,  Henry,  was  born.  At  an 
early  age,  he  was  left  without  father  or  fortune  to  buffet, 
adverse  storms,  and  to  become  inured  to  manual  toil. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  a  small  drug  store  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  kept  by  Mr.  Richard  Denny.  His 
stay  there  was  short,  and  at  the  commencement  of  1792 
he  entered  the  office  of  Mr.  Peter  Tinsley,  clerk  of  the 
High  Court  of  Chancery.  In  this  situation  he,  of 
course,  came  into  personal  contact  with  the  most  distin- 
guished men  in  the  State,  and  attracted  their  attention 
so  strongly  by  his  talents  and  amiable  qualities,  that 
some  of  them,,  particularly  Chancellor  Wythe  and 


U8  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

GOTernor  Brooke, 


character  of  his  maturer  eloquence.  -        > 

Mr.   Prentice,    "under   some   emba™7^'  *^n"_ 
dressed  the  President  of  the  Society  by  the  t, 
S  of  ^  Jury,  but  he  gradually  gained  confidence 
frl  his  own  efforts,  and,  finally,  concentrating  all  h» 
^Is  upon  the  subject  in  debate,  ^tf^SJ 
Le  with  a  beauty  and  compass  of  vo1Ce,  an  exuber 
ance  of  eloquence,  and  a  force  of  argument  well  jrthy 
of   a  veteran   orator.     A   gentleman  who -heard   th s 
speech  has  assured  us,  that  it  would  hardly  surTei 
comparison  with  the  most  brilliant  efforts  made  by  its 
author  in  after  life.     His  reputation  as  a  speaker  was 
course  established,  and  he  became  immediately  a 
ing  champion  in  all  the  debates  of  the  Society." 

Mr.  Clay  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  profession  a 
Lexington,  under  not  the  most  flattering  auspices,  ai 
appears  from  his  speech  of  June,  1842,  made  at  1 
same  place.  In  this,  he  says  he  «'  was  without  patron 
without  friends,  and  destitute  of  the  means  of  paymj 
his  weekly  board.  I  remember  how  comfortable 


HENRY    CLAY.  119 

thought  I  should  be,  if  I  could  make  £100,  Virginia 
money,  per  annum,  and  with  what  delight  I  received  the 
first  fifteen  shilling  fee.  My  hopes  were  more  than 
realized  ;  1  immediately  rushed  into  a  lucrative  prac 
tice." 

Mr.  Clay's  political  career  began  as  early  as  1797 
when  he  openly  portrayed  the  evils  of  domestic  slavery 
His  youthful  ardor  resisted  every  restraint  upon  free 
dom,  as  was  manifest  in  the  manner  of  his  resistanci 
to  the  odious  Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  enacted  in  1798-9 
In  1803,  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky, 
and  almost  immediately  on  entering  upon  the  functions 
of  this,  his  first  political  office,  he  won  no  little  notoriety 
in  a  severe  and  successful  conflict  with  Felix  Grundy,  a 
forensic  antagonist  of  great  force  and  skill.  In  1806, 
General  Adair,  one  of  the  Senators  of  the  State  in  Con- 
gress, having  resigned  his  place,  Mr.  Clay  was  elected 
to  occupy  it  for  the  remainder  of  the  term,  which  was 
only  one  year.  It  was  in  this  capacity  that  he  first  ap- 
peared at  Washington.  At  the  moment  of  his  arrival, 
the  Senate  was  engaged  in  a  debate  respecting  the 
expediency  of  authorizing  the  construction  of  a  bridge 
over  the  Potomac,  into  which  discussion  Mr.  Clay 
immediately  entered  and  made  a  very  effective  speech. 
On  returning  to  Kentucky,  after  the  expiration  of  his 
term  in  the  Senate,  he  was  immediately  re-elected  to 
the  State  Legislature,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  next 
session  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  General  Assembly, 
which  office  he  held  for  several  successive  years.  In 
1809,  Mr.  Thurston,  another  Senator  in  Congress, 
having  resigned  his  place,  Mr.  Clay  was  called  upon  to 


120  LIVING    OEATORS    JN    AMERICA. 

occupy  it  for  the  remainder  of  his  term,  which  was  two 
years,  and  took  his  seat  accordingly  in  the  Senate,  at  the 
close  of  that  year.  The  leading  questions  of  the  two  ses- 
sions of  1810,  and  1811,  were  the  occupation  of  West  Flo- 
rida, and  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  Bank.  On 
these,  and  other  topics  which  came  before  the  Senate,  Mr. 
Clay  distinguished  himself  as  one  of  the  ablest  cham- 
pions of  the  party  then  in  power.  On  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  service  in  the  Senate  in  1811,  he  returned 
to  Kentucky,  and  was  immediately  after  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States,  where  he  took  his  seat  in  the  winter  of  the  same 
year.  "  Mr.  Clay  was  at  this  time  about  thirty-five 
vears  of  age,  a  period  of  life  when  the  intellectual  pow- 
ers of  most  men  have  just  attained  their  full  maturity, 
and  are  beginning  to  mark  out  for  them  the  place  whicn 
they  are  to  occupy  in  the  opinion  of  the  world.  So 
much,  however,  had  Mr.  Clay  anticipated  the  usual  pro- 
gress, and  such  already  was  the  extent  of  his  influence, 
not  merely  in  his  own  State,  but  on  the  wider  theatre 
of  national  politics,  that,  on  his  first  appearance  as  a 
new  member  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  he  was 
chosen  Speaker  by  a  vote  of  nearly  two  to  one  over 
two  opposing  candidates.  No  mark  of  respect  and  con- 
fidence at  all  equal  to  this  has  ever  been  bestowed  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  upon  any  other  person, 
and  the  best  proof  that  it  was  not  the  result  of  any  com- 
bination of  accidental  circumstances  or  momentary 
caprice,  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  the  confidence 
thus  bestowed,  was  never  afterwards  withdrawn  or 
shaken.  During  the  long  period  of  Mr.  Clay's  congres- 


HENRY    CLAY.  121 

sional  career,  which  lasted,  with  two  short  intervals, 
from  this  time  till  his  entrance  into  the  Department  of 
State,  in  1825,  he  was  regularly  elected  Speaker  of  each 
successive  House  of  Representatives,  we  believe,  with- 
out opposition.  It  is  admitted,  in  fact,  by  all,  that  in 
discharging  the  arduous  and  honorable  duties  of  this 
place,  he  was  singularly  successful.  Though  eminently 
prompt,  firm,  and  decisive,  the  frankness  and  urbanity 
of  his  manner  prevented  any  one  from  taking  offence, 
and  rendered  him  a  general  favorite."  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1814,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
Commissioners  to  treat  for  peace  with  Great  Britain, 
and  having  accepted  the  trust,  retired,  of  course,  from 
the  Speaker's  chair.  The  circumstances  attending  his 
resignation,  which  are  stated  in  the  following  extract 
from  one  of  his  biographers,  strongly  evince  the  extent 
of  his  influence  over  his  political  associates,  and  his 
general  popularity  with  the  members  of  all  parties : 

"  The  official  duties  which  now  devolved  upon  Miv 
Clay,  required  him  to  resign  the  Speaker's  chair.  At 
this  time,  his  influence  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
was  equal  to  that  which  he  had  exercised,  some  years 
before,  in  the  Legislature  of  his  adopted  State.  His 
friends  and  his  enemies  agree  in  the  remark,  that  his 
power  was  almost  unlimited.  His  party  was  a  majority 
in  the  House,  and,  so  unbounded  was  the  confidence 
which  its  members  reposed  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity, 
that  he  could  sway  them  by  a  motion  of  his  hand. 
Whenever  the  course  of  a  discussion  failed  to  meet  his 
approbation,  he  descended  from  the  chair,  and,  by  min- 
gling in  the  debate,  gave,  at  once,  a  new  character  to 


122  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  proceedings.  His  resignation  was  tendered  on  the 
16th  of  January,  and  accompanied  by  a  beautiful  and 
affecting  speech,  which  touched  every  heart  in  the 
assembly,  and  unsealed  many  a  fountain  of  tears.  In 
the  generous  feelings  of  the  hour,  even  the  federalists 
wept  freely,  that  a  master-spirit  was  going  out  from 
among  them.  A  resolution,  thanking  him  in  fervid  lan- 
guage for  the  impartiality  with  which  he  had  adminis- 
tered the  arduous  duties  of  office,  was  passed  almost 
unanimously ;  only  eight  or  nine  members  voting 
against  it.  Probably  there  was  no  other  man  in  the  na- 
tion, who,  at  that  stormy  period,  could  have  presided 
with  such  signal  energy  over  the  deliberations  of  the 
popular  branch  of  Congress,  and  yet  have  commanded 
the  approbation  of  so  vast  a  majority  of  both  political 
parties." 

During  his  absence  on  the  mission  to  Ghent,  Mr. 
Clay  visited  several  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of 
Europe,  and  was  everywhere  received  with  marked  at- 
tention. On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he  was 
greeted  with  great  enthusiasm,  particularly  in  his  own 
State.  He  was  immediately  re-elected  to  Congress,  and 
from  this  time,  until  his  retirement  from  public  life,  in 
1842,  may  be  regarded  as  the  leading  statesman  in  the 
councils  of  the  Union. 

From  this  condensed  biographical  sketch  of  Mr. 
Clay,  we  turn  more  particularly  to  notice  his  mental 
adroitness,  ardent  nationality  of  spirit,  and  impressive 
manner  of  address. 

In  the  first  place,  we  remark,  a  bold  and  effective 
quality  in  the  personal  character  of  Mr.  Clay,  is  adroit. 


BENRY    CLAY.  l&J 

ness,  or  tact,  in  conducting  important  business.  This  is 
a  trait  quite  prominent  in  his  constitution  and  career, 
exemplified  by  him  in  a  way  which  verifies  the  follow- 
ing pointed  description  : 

"  Talent  is  something,  but  tact  is  everything.  Tal- 
ent is  serious,  sober,  grave  and  respectable  ;  tact  is  all 
that,  and  more  too.  It  is  not  a  sixth  sense,  but  it  is  the 
life  of  all  the  five.  It  is  the  open  eye,  the  quick  ear,  the 
judging  taste,  the  keen  smell,  and  the  lively  touch  ;  the 
interpreter  of  all  riddles,  the  surmounter  of  all  difficulties, 
the  remover  of  all  obstacles.  It  is  useful  in  all  places, 
and  at  all  times.  It  is  useful  in  solitude,  for  it  shows  a 
man  the  way  into  the  world ;  it  is  useful  in  society*  for 
it  shows  him  his  way  through  the  world.  Talent  is 
power ;  tact  is  skill.  Talent  is  weight ;  tact  is  mo- 
mentum. Talent  knows  what  to  do,  tact  knows  how  to 
do  it.  Talent  makes  a  man  respectable  ;  tact  will  make 
him  respected.  Talent  is  wealth ;  tact  is  ready  money. 
For  the  practical  purposes  of  life,  tact  carries  it  against 
talent,  ten  to  one.  There  is  no  want  of  dramatic  tact 
or  talent,  but  they  are  seldom  together  ;  so  we  have  suc- 
cessful pieces  which  are  not  respectable,  and  respectable 
pieces  which  are  not  successful.  Take  them  to  the  bar, 
and  let  them  shake  their  learned  curls  at  each  other  in 
legal  rivalry  ;  talent  sees  its  way  clearly,  but  tact  is  first 
at  iis  journey's  end.  Talent  has  many  a  compliment 
from  the  bench;  but  tact  touches  fees  from  attorneys 
and  clients.  Talent  speaks  learnedly  and  logically  ; 
tact,  triumphantly.  Talent  makes  the  world  wonder 
that  it  gets  along  no  faster ;  tact  excites  astonishment 
that  it  gets  along  so  fast.  The  secret  is,  it  has  no 


124  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

weight  to  carry;  it  makes  no  false  steps;  it  hits  the 
right  nail  on  the  head ;  it  takes  all  hints. 

"  Take  them  into  the  church.  Talent  has  always 
something  worth  hearing ;  tact  is  sure  of  abundance  of 
hearers.  Talent  may  obtain  a  living;  tact  will  make 
one.  Talent  gets  a  good  name,  but  tact  gets  a  great 
one.  Talent  conceives ;  tact  converts.  Talent  is  an 
honor  to  the  profession  ;  tact  gains  honor  from  the  pro- 
fession. 

"  Take  them  to  court.  Talent  feels  its  way  ;  tact 
makes  its  way.  Talent  commands ;  tact  is  obeyed. 
Talent  is  honored  with  approbation  ;  tact  is  blessed  with 
preferment. 

"  Place  them  in  the  Senate.  Talent  has  the  ear  of  the 
house;  but  tact  wins  its  heart  and  gains  its  votes. 
Talent  is  fit  for  employment ;  but  tact  is  fitted  for  it.  It 
has  a  knack  of  slipping  into  place,  with  a  sweet  silence 
and  glibness  of  movement,  as  a  billiard  ball  insinuates 
itself  into  the  pocket.  It  seems  to  know  everything, 
without  learning  anything.  It  wants  no  drilling.  It 
has  no  left  hand,  no  deaf  ear,  no  blind  side.  It  puts  on 
no  looks  of  wondrous  wisdom,  it  has  no  air  of  profundity  ; 
but  plays  with  the  details  of  place  as  dexterously  as  a 
well  taught  hand  flourishes  over  the  keys  of  a  piano- 
forte. It  has  all  the  air  of  common  place,  and  all  the 
force  and  power  of  genius.  Talent  calculates  clearly  ; 
reasons  logically.  Tact  refutes  without  contradicting, 
puzzles  the  profound  without  profundity,  and  without 
wit,  outwits  the  wise. 

"  Set  them  together  on  a  race  for  popularity,  pen  in 
hand,  and  tact  will  distance  talent  by  half  the  course. 


HENRY    CLAY.  125 

Talent  brings  to  market  that  which  is  needed  ;  tact  pro- 
duces that  which  is  wished  for.  Talent  instructs  ;  tact 
enlightens.  Talent  leads  where  no  one  follows  ;  tact 
follows  where  the  humor  leads.  Talent  toils  for  pos- 
terity ;  tact  catches  the  passion  of  the  passing  hour 
Talent  is  a  fine  thing  to  talk  about,  and  be  proud  of. 
but  tact  is  useful,  portable,  always  alive,  always  market- 
able. It  is  the  talent  of  talents,  the  availableness  of  re- 
sources, the  applicability  of  power,  the  eye  of  discrimi- 
nation, the  right  hand  of  intellect." 

The  adroitness  so  peculiar  to  Mr.  Clay,  was  manifested 
by  him  from  the  commencement  of  his  brilliant  practice 
at  the  bar.  We  will  select  a  few  examples.  Two  Ger- 
mans, father  and  son,  were  indicted  for  murder,  and 
were  tried  in  Harrison  County.  The  act  of  killing  was 
proven  by  evidence  so  clear  and  strong,  that  it  was  con- 
sidered not  only  a  case  of  murder,  but  an  exceedingly 
aggravated  one.  The  trial  lasted  five  days,  "at  the 
close  of  which  he  addressed  the  jury  in  the  most  impas- 
sioned and  eloquent  manner,  who  were  so  moved  by  his 
pathetic  appeals  that  they  rendered  a  verdict  of  man- 
slaughter only.  After  another  hard  day's  struggle  he 
succeeded  in  obtaining  an  arrest  of  judgment,  by  which 
his  clients  were  set  at  liberty.  They  expressed  their 
gratitude  in  the  warmest  terms  to  their  deliverer,  in 
which  they  were  joined  by  an  old  ill-favored  female,  the 
wife  of  one  and  the  mother  of  the  other,  who  adopted  a 
different  mode,  however,  of  tendering  her  thanks,  which 
was  by  throwing  her  arms  around  Mr.  Clay's  neck  and 
repeatedly  kissing  him,  in  the  presence  of  the  court  and 
spectators.  Respecting  her  feelings,  he  did  not  attempt 


126  LIVING    Ol.ATORS    IN    AMERICA 

to  repulse  her,  but  submitted  with  such  grace  and  dig- 
nity to  her  caresses  as  to  elicit  outbursts  of  applause." 

This  sagacious  advocate  was  equally  adroit  in  dis- 
covering and  turning  to  his  advantage,  a  technical  law  • 
point,  involving  doubt.  For  instance,  a  client  of  his, 
by  the  name  of  Willis,  indicted  for  murder,  was  put  on 
trial.  By  a  mighty  effort,  Mr.  Clay  succeeded,  in  al- 
most direct  defiance  of  testimony,  in  creating  a  division 
of  the  jury,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  defendant's  crime. 
The  Attorney  for  the  Commonwealth  obtained  a  new 
trial.  When  his  turn  came  to  speak,  "  Mr.  Clay  rose, 
and  commenced  with  assuming  the  position,  that,  what- 
ever opinion  the  jury  might  have  of  the  guilt  or  inno- 
cence of  the  prisoner,  it  was  too  late  to  convict  him,  for 
he  had  been  once  tried,  and  the  law  required  that  no 
man  should  be  put  twice  in  jeopardy  of  his  life  for  the 
same  offence.  The  Court  was  startled  at  this  assump- 
tion, and  peremptorily  prohibited  the  speaker  from  pro- 
ceeding in  the  argument  to  maintain  it.  Mr.  Clay  drew 
himself  proudly  up,  and  remarking,  that,  if  he  was  not 
allowed  to  argue  the  whole  case  to  the  jury,  he  could 
have  nothing  more  to  say,  made  a  formal  bow  to  the 
Court,  put  his  books  into  his  green  bag,  and,  with 
Roman  dignity,  left  the  hall,  followed  by  his  associate 
counsel.  The  consequence  was  as  he  had  foreseen. 
He  had  not  been  at  his  lodgings  more  than  five  or  ten 
minutes,  when  he  was  waited  on  by  a  messenger  from 
the  Court,  requesting  his  return,  and  assuring  him  that 
he  should  be  permitted  to  argue  the  case  in  his  own 
way.  Instantly  he  made  his  re-appearance  in  the  hall, 
pressed,  with  the  utmost  vehemence,  the  point  he  had 


HENRY   CLAY.  127 

oefore  attempted  to  establish,  and,  on  the  ground  that  his 
client  had  once  been  tried,  prevailed  on  the  jury  to  give 
him  his  liberty,  without  any  reference  whatever  to  the 
testimony  against  him.  Such  a  decision  could  not  now 
be  obtained  in  Kentucky, — and,  at  the  period  in  question, 
was  obviously  contrary  to  law." 

Although  frequently  employed  in  criminal  cases,  he 
was,  says  his  biographer,  not  less  successful  in  civil  suits. 
The  decision  and  promptitude  of  his  practice  are  curi- 
ously illustrated  in  the  following  anecdote : 

"  In  suits  that  involved  the  land  laws  of  Virginia  and 
Kentucky,  he  had  no  rival.  But  it  would  be  in  vain  to 
attempt  even  an  enumeration  of  the  cases,  in  which, 
during  the  early  years  of  his  practice,  he  gathered  a  rich 
harvest  of  gold  and  fame.  In  a  short  biographical  no- 
tice that  was  given  of  him  about  three  years  ago,  we 
find  mention  of  an  incident  in  his  professional  life, 
which  was  certainly  a  striking  illustration  of  the  rapidity 
of  his  intellectual  combinations,  and  his  power  of  seiz- 
ing intuitively  upon  the  strong  points  of  a  case.  We 
give  it  as  a  single  specimen  of  what  he  could  do.  In  con- 
junction with  another  attorney  of  eminence,  whose 
name  we  have  forgotten,  he  was  employed  to  argue  in 
the  Fayette  Circuit  Court,  a  question  of  great  difficulty, 
— one,  ki  which  the  interests  of  the  litigant  parties  were 
both  deeply  involved.  At  the  opening  of  the  Court, 
something  occurred  to  call  him  away,  and  the  whole 
management  of  the  case  devolved  on  his  associate  coun- 
sel. Two  days  were  spent  in  discussing  the  points  of 
law,  which  were  to  govern  the  instructions  of  the  Court 
to  the  jury,  and  on  each  of  these  points  Mr.  Clay's 


128  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

colleague  "was  foiled  by  his  antagonist.  At  the  end  ot 
the  second  day  Mr.  Clay  re-entered  the  Court.  He  had 
not  heard  a  word  of  the  testimony,  and  knew  nothing  of 
the  course  which  the  discussion  had  taken,  but,  after 
holding  a  very  short  consultation  with  his  colleague,  he 
drew  up  a  statement  of  the  form  in  which  he  wished  the 
instructions  of  the  Court  to  be  given  to  the  jury,  and 
accompanied  his  petition  with  a  few  observations  so  novel 
and  satisfactory,  that  it  was  granted  without  the  least 
hesitation.  A  corresponding  verdict  was  instantly  re- 
turned by  the  jury :  and  thus  the  case,  which  had  been 
on  the  very  point  of  being  decided  against  Mr.  Clay's 
client,  was  decided  in  his  favor,  in  less  than  half  an  hour 
after  Mr.  Clay  entered  the  Court-House." 

When  Mr.  Clay  began  to  aspire  to  the  attainment  of 
political  distinction,  he  was  obliged,  in  common  with 
other  candidates,  to  resort  to  stump  speaking,  and  in  the 
sphere  of  mental  adroitness,  showed  himself  as  expert  as 
he  had  already  appeared  at  the  bar.  An  incident  is  re- 
lated, which  illustrates  his  happy  tact  in  seizing  and 
turning  to  good  account  trivial  circumstances  with  great 
effect.  Says  an  acquaintance :  "  He  had  been  engaged 
in  speaking  some  time,  when  a  company  of  riflemen, 
who  had  been  performing  military  exercise,  attracted  by 
his  attitude,  concluded  to  go  and  hear  what  that  fellow 
had  to  say,  as  they  termed  it,  and  accordingly  drew 
near.  They  listened  with  respectful  attention  and  evi- 
dently with. deep  interest,  until  he  closed;  when  one  of 
their  number,  a  man  about  fifty  years  of  age,  who  had 
evidently  seen  much  backwoods  service,  stood  leaning 
on  his  rifle,  regarding  the  young  speaker  with  a  fixed 


HENRY    CLAY.  129 

and  most  sagacious  look.  He  was  apparently  the  Nim- 
rod  of  the  company,  for  he  exhibited  every  characteris- 
tic of  a  mighty  hunter, — buckskin  breeches  and  hunting 
shirt,  coon-skin  cap,  black  bushy  beard,  and  a  visage 
which,  had  it  been  in  juxtaposition  with  his  leathern  bul- 
let pouch,  might  have  been  taken  for  part  and  parcel  of 
the  same.  At  his  belt  hung  the  knife  and  hatchet,  and 
the  huge  indispensable  powder-horn  across  a  breast  bare 
and  brown  as  the  bleak  hills  he  often  traversed,  yet 
which  concealed  as  brave  and  noble  a  heart  as  ever  beat 
beneath  a  fairer  covering.  He  beckoned  with  his  hand 
to  Mr.  Clay  to  approach  him,  who  immediately  complied. 
1  Young  man/  said  he,  '  you  want  to  go  to  the  legislature, 
I  see  ?'  '  Why,  yes,'  replied  Mr.  Clay, ''  yes,  I  should  like 
to  go,  since  my  friends  have  seen  proper  to  put  me  up 
as  a  candidate  before  the  people ;  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
defeated.'  'Are  you  a  good  shot?'  'The  best  in  the 
country.'  '  Then  you  shall  go ;  but  you  must  give  us  a 
specimen  of  your  skill ;  we  must  see  you  shoot.'  '  I 
never  shoot  any  rifle  but  my  own,  and  that  is  at  home.' 
'  No  matter,  here  is  old  Bess,  she  never  fails  in  the  hands 
of  a  markesman ;  she  has  often  sent  death  through  a 
squirrel's  head  one  hundred  yards,  and  daylight  through 
many  a  red  skin  twice  that  distance ;  if  you  can  shoot 
any  gun  you  can  shoot  old  Bess.'  'Well,  put  up  your 
mark,  put  up  your  mark,' replied  Mr.  Clay.  The  target 
was  placed  at  a  distance  of  about  eighty  yards,  when, 
with  all  the  steadiness  of  an  old  experienced  marksman, 
he  drew  old  Bess  to  his  shoulder  and  fired.  The  bullet 
pierced  the  target  near  the  cdntre.  'Oh,  a  chance  shot! 
a  chance  shot !'  exclaimed  several  of  his  political  oppo- 
6* 


130  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

nents.  '  A  chance  shot !  He  might  shoot  all  day  and 
not  hit  the  mark  again ;  let  him  try  it  over,  let  him  try 
it  over.'  '  No ;  beat  that,  beat  that,  and  then  I  will,' 
retorted  Mr.  Clay.  But  as  no  one  seemed  disposed  to 
make  the  attempt,  it  was  considered  that  he  had  given 
satisfactory  proof  of  being  the  best  shot  in  the  county  ; 
and  this  unimportant  incident  gained  him  the  vote  of 
every  hunter  and  marksman  in  the  assembly,  which  was 
composed  principally  of  that  class  of  persons,  as  well 
as  the  support  of  the  same  throughout  the  county. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  respecting  the  whole  trans- 
action is  yet  to  be  told.  Said  Mr.  Clay,  '  I  had  never 
before  fired  a  rifle,  and  have  not  since.'  The  result  of 
the  election  proved  Mr.  Clay  much  more  popular  than  it 
had  been  supposed  he  was ;  he  was  elected  almost  by 
acclamation.  Our  astonishment  may  well  be  excited, 
when  we  consider  that  this  was  the  first  time  that  he 
was  a  candidate  for  an  office,  and  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  took  place.  It  must  be  certain  that  he 
was  esteemed  a  young  man  of  great  promise  and  ability." 

Another  instance  is  related  similar  to  the  above. 
During  a  particular  canvas,  Mr.  Clay  met  an  old  hun- 
ter who  had  previously  been  his  devoted  friend,  but  who 
now  opposed  him  because  of  his  action  on  the  passage 
of  the  Compensation  Bill. 

"Have  you  a  good  rifle,  my  friend  ?"  asked  Mr.  Clay. 
"  Yes."  "  Does  it  ever  flash  ?"  "  Once  only."  "  What 
did  you  do  with  it,  throw  it  away?"  "No,  I  picked  the 
flint,  tried  it  again,  and  brought  down  the  game." 
"  Have  I  ever  flashed  but  on  the  Compensation  Bill  ?" 
-"No"  "Will  you  throw  me  away?"  "No!  no'" 


HENRY    CLAY.  131 

quickly  replied  the  hunter,  nearly  overwhelmed  by  his 
enthusiastic  feelings,  "  /  will  pick  the  flint  and  try  you 
again !"  Ever  afterwards  he  was  the  unwavering 
friend  of  Mr.  Clay. 

Under  another  head,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer 
to  our  orator's  wonderful  expertness  at  management 
with  the  loftiest  patriotism,  in  the  emergencies  when  he 
introduced  and  carried  his  several  compromise  bills. 
We  are  now  referring  in  particular  to  his  sagacious  self- 
control,  and  power  of  conciliating  the  most  prejudiced 
foes.  Take  the  following  case  of  his  own  stating,  which 
occurred  in  1828,  while  he  was  travelling  in  Virginia, 
accompanied  by  some  friends.  "  We  halted,"  said  he, 
"  at  night,  at  a  tavern  kept  by  an  aged  gentleman,  who, 
after  supper  sat  down  by  me,  and,  without  hearing  my 
name,  but  understanding  that  I  was  from  Kentucky, 
remarked,  that  he  had  four  sons  in  that  State,  and  that 
he  was  very  sorry  they  were  divided  in  politics,  two 
being  for  Adams  and  two  for  Jackson.  He  wished 
they  were  all  for  Jackson.  Why  ?  I  asked  him.  'Be- 
cause,' he  said,  'that  fellow  Clay,  and  Adams,  had 
cheated  Jackson  out  of  the  Presidency'  Have  you  ever 
seen  any  evidence,  my  old  friend,  said  I,  of  that  ?  'No,' 
he  replied,  '  none,  and  he  wanted  to  see  none'  But, 
I  observed,  looking  him  directly  and  steadily  in  the  face, 
suppose  Mr.  Clay  were  to  come  here  and  assure  you, 
upon  his  honor,  that  it  was  all  a  vile  calumny,  and  not 
a  word  of  truth  in  it,  would  you  believe  him  ?  '  No,' 
replied  the  old  man,  promptly  and  emphatically.  I  sajd 
to  him,  in  conclusion,  will  fou  be  good  enough  to  show 
me  to  bed,  and  bade  him  good  night.  The  next  morn- 


132  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ing,  having  in  the  interval  learnt  my  name,  he  came  to 
me  full  of  apologies,  but  I  at  once  put  him  at  his  easef 
by  assuring  him  that  I  did  not  feel,  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree, hurt  or  offended  with  him." 

But  it  was  not  so  easy  for  others  to  repress  their  feel- 
ings under  Mr.  Clay's  pungent  insinuations,  as  the  fol- 
lowing example  will  show :  On  the  2d  of  September, 
1841,  Mr.  Buchanan  took  occasion  to  say  that  Mr. 
Tyler  had  shown  himself  "  a  man  of  mettle,"  by  his  veto 
on  the  Bank.  Mr.  Clay  replied : 

•'  Rumor  had  said,  that  a  party  of  the  opposition  had 
visited  the  President's  house,  the  night  after  the  veto. 
He  (Mr.  Clay)  did  not  know  as  to  the  fact.  But  he 
would  suppose  a  case.  There,  he  would  imagine,  among 
those  gathered  for  the  great  congratulation,  was  the 
senator  from  South  Carolina,  (Mr.  Calhoun)  looking  as 
if  he  were  deducting  the  nicest  abstraction  that  had 
ever  issued  from  his  metaphysical  brain.  There,  he 
presumed,  was  the  senator  from  Alabama,  (Mr.  King) 
ready  to  settle,  in  the  most  positive  manner,  any  ques- 
tion of  order  that  might  arise.  He  supposed  many 
others  were  present.  There,  too,  was  the  senator  from 
Pennsylvania,  (Mr.  Buchanan)  as  their  distinguished 
leader,  addressing  the  President  in  something  like  the 
following  manner: 

"  '  May  it  please  your  Excellency,  my  political  friends 
and  myself  have  come  this  afternoon  to  deposit  at  your 
Excellency's  feet  the  evidences  of  our  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion. We  have  come  more  particularly  to  express  to 
your  Excellency  the  congrafulations  to  which  we  think 
you  are  entitled,  for  having  relieved  the  country  from 


HENRY    CLAY.  133 

the  danger  ot  a  violation  of  its  constitution,  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  Barrk  of  the  United  States  ;  and  we 
owe  to  your  Excellency  our  especial  acknowledgments 
for  the  veto  with  which  you  have  favored  the  country 
to-day ;  and  for  special  reasons,  we  straggled  against  your 
Excellency's  friends  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  for  days 
and  weeks  together ;  we  exhausted  all  our  powers  of 
logic  and  arguments  to  defeat  the  alarming  measure  ; 
but,  in  spite  of  that,  the  friends  of  your  Excellency, 
in  both  Houses,  proved  too  strong  for  us,  and  carried  it 
against  our  united  exertions;  and  we  come  now  to 
thank  your  Excellency,  that  you  have  done  that  against 
your  friends,  which  we  could  not  accomplish  with  all 
our  exertions.' " 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Benton  came  in  for  his  share  of 
this  castigation,  and  that  while  Mr.  Clay  was  describing 
his  hypothetical  part  with  graphic  power,  he  rose,  and 
denied  with  great  vehemence  that  he  was  there.  "  It 
was  only  a  supposition,"  said  Mr.  Clay.  Mr.  Buchanan 
betrayed  much  feeling  when  he  rose  to  rejoin.  Mr. 
King  colored,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  flatly  denied.  Mr. 
Clay  desired  each  of  them  to  consider  that  it  was  only 
an  hypothesis.  Rumor  adds  that  Mr.  Buchanan  had 
much  trouble  to  convince  his  constituents  that  he  did 
not  make  that  speech  to  his  "  Excellency." 

We  shall  have  occasion  to  witness  the  mental  adroit- 
ness of  Mr.  Clay  developed  in  its  noblest  forms,  while 
we  proceed  to  notice,  secondly,  his  ardent  nationality  of 
spirit. 

One  of  the  earliest  topics  that  engrossed  this  great 
patriot's  attention,  was  that  of  the  character  and  influ- 


134  LIVING    ORATOE3    IN    AMERICA. 

ence  of  American  slavery.  This  matter  has  frequently 
been  discussed  by  him  in  the  course  of  his  public  life. 
On  Jan.  20,  1827,  in  a  speech  delivered  at  Washington, 
he  said  :  "  If  I  could  be  instrumental  in  eradicating  this 
deepest  stain  upon  the  character  of  our  country,  and 
removing  all  cause  of  reproach  on  account  of  it,  by 
foreign  nations ;  if  I  could  only  be  instrumental  in  rid- 
ding of  this  foul  blot  that  revered  State  that  gave  me 
birth,  or  that  not  less  beloved  State  which  kindly  adopted 
me  as  her  son,  I  would  not  exchange  the  proud  satisfac- 
tion which  I  should  enjoy,  for  the  honor  of  all  the 

triumphs  ever  decreed  to  the  most  successful  conqueror" 

****** 

"  We  are  reproached  with  doing  mischief  by  the  agi- 
tating of  this  question  (slavery.)  Collateral  conse- 
quences we  are  not  responsible  for.  It  is  not  this 
society,  which  has  produced  the  great  moral  revolution, 
which  the  age  exhibits.  What  would  they,  who  thus 
reproach  us,  have  done  ?  If  they  would  repress  all  ten- 
dencies towards  liberty,  and  ultimate  emancipation,  they 
must  do  more  than  put  down  the  benevolent  efforts  of 
this  society.  They  must  go  back  to  the  era  of  our 
liberty  and  independence,  and  muzzle  the  cannon  which 
thunders  its  annual  joyous  return.  They  must  revive  the 
slave  trade,  with  all  its  train  of  atrocities.  They  must 
blow  out  the  moral  lights  around  us,  and  extinguish  that 
greatest  torch  of  all,  which  America  presents  to  a  be- 
nighted world,  pointing  the  way  to  their  rights,  their 
liberties,  and  their  happiness.  And  when  they  have 
achieved  all  these  purposes,  their  work  will  yet  be  in- 
complete. They  must  penetrate  the  human  soul,  and 


HBNRY    CLAY.  135 

eradicate  the  light  of  reason,  and  the  love  of  liberty. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  when  universal  darkness  and 
despair  prevail,  can  you  perpetuate  slavery,  and  repress 
all  sympathies,  and  all  humane  and  benevolent  efforts 
among  freemen,  in  behalf  of  the  unhappy  portion  of  our 
race  doomed  to  bondage." 

Thus  acutely  alive  to  the  enormities  of  slavery  of 
every  form,  Mr.  Clay  was  not  constituted  to  look  with 
indifference  upon  British  aggression  upon  our  national 
rights  and  fame.  He  witnessed  with  irrepressible  indig- 
nation the  systematic  crusade  gotten  up  to  extinguish 
our  growing  commerce,  to  resist  which  infamous  pro 
ceeding  occasioned  the  war  of  1812.  Great  Britain, 
among  other  illegalities  and  cruelties  practiced  towards 
us,  adopted  the  execrable  custom  of  impressment,  and 
thus  carried  seven  thousand  American  freemen  into 
captivity,  as  appeared  from  official  reports  made  during 
a  single  session  of  Congress.  This  barbarous  system 
grew  more  and  more  insufferable  continually.  Scarcely 
a  breeze  came  across  the  Atlantic  without  wafting  to 
our  shores  news  of  some  fresh  enormity.  Redress  was 
sought  by  mild  measures,  without  effect  or  even  respect. 
Madison,  Pinckney,  and  Munroe,  in  their  correspond- 
ence with  the  British  government,  had  remonstrated 
again  and  again,  but  only  to  embolden  the  aggressor  in 
his  outrageous  proceedings.  Mr.  Clay,  and  those  who 
sympathized  with  him,  felt  that  there  was  no  alternative 
left  the  United  States  but  to  arm  in  righteous  defence, 
and  chastise  the  insolence  of  an  overbearing  foe.  But 
there  were  some  who  stood  in  awe  of  the  maritime 
"orce  of  England,  and  who  deemed  it  impossible  that 


136  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

our  young  nation,  with  feeble  munitions  of  war,  and  no 
navy,  could  compete  with  an  antagonist  then  haughtily 
careering  over  every  sea,  and  blockading  all  the  ports  of 
Europe.  These  affected  to  believe  that  the  interests  of 
the  country  would  not  be  subserved,  whether  the  war 
eventuated  in  her,  or  that  of  her  enemy  ;  they  could  see 
nothing  to  be  gained  by  it ;  to  whom  Mr.  Clay  said,  "  1 
will  ask  what  are  we  not  to  lose  by  peace  ? — commerce, 
character,  a  nation's  best  treasure  and  honor !  If  pecu- 
niary considerations  alone  are  to  govern,  there  are  suffi- 
cient motives  for  the  war.  Our  revenue  is  reduced  by 
the  operation  of  the  belligerent  edicts  to  about  six  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  The  year  preceding  the  embargo,  it 
was  sixteen.  Take  away  the  orders  in  council,  it  will 
again  mount  up  to  sixteen  millions.  By  continuing, 
therefore,  in  peace — if  the  mongrel  situation  in  which 
we  are  deserves  that  denomination — we  lose  annually, 
in  revenue  alone,  ten  millions  of  dollars.  Gentlemen 
will  say,  repeal  the  law  of  non-importation.  If  the 
United  States  were  capable  of  that  perfidy,  the  revenue 
would  not  be  restored  to  its  former  state,  the  orders  in 
council  continuing.  Without  an  export  trade,  which 
these  orders  prevent,  inevitable  ruin  will  ensue  if  we 
import  as  freely  as  we  did  prior  to  the  embargo.  A 
nation  that  carries  on  an  import  trade  without  an  export 
trade  to  support  it,  must  in  the  end  be  as  certainly  bank- 
rupt, as  the  individual  would  be  who  incurred  an  annual 
expenditure  without  an  income." 

Mr.  Clay  contended  that  England,  in  assigning  the 
cause  of  her  aggressions  to  be  the  punishment  of  France, 


HENRY    CLAY.  137 

with  whom  she  was  at  war,  was  practicing  a  deceptive 
part ;  that  this  was  her  ostensible  and  not  real  course. 
It  was  her  inordinate  desire  of  supremacy  on  the  seas, 
which  could  not  brook  any  appearance  of  rivalry,  that 
prompted  her  hostilities.  She  saw  in  your  numberless 
ships  which  whitened  every  sea,  in  your  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  gallant  tars,  the  seeds  of  a  naval  force, 
which,  in  thirty  years, ^vould  rival  her  on  her  own  ele- 
ment. She  therefore  commenced  the  odious  system  of 
impressment,  of  which  no  language  can  paint  my  exe- 
cration !  She  DARED  to  attempt  the  subversion  of  the 
personal  freedom  of  your  mariners  !" 

He  closed  by  expressing  his  decided  conviction  of  the 
justice  of  the  undertaking,  and  hoping  that  unless  re- 
dress was  obtained  by  peaceable  means  speedily,  war 
would  be  resorted  to  before  the  close  of  the  session. 

In  subsequent  speeches,  he  expressed  himself  con- 
vinced that  the  declaration  of  war  was  the  most  provi- 
dent measure  that  could  under  the  then  existing  circum- 
stances be  adopted,  and  advocated  it  with  the  greatest 
energy  and  zeal.  He  demonstrated  its  necessity,  not 
only  to  the  Atlantic  States,  but  to  the  vast  west.  "  If," 
said  he,  "  there  be  a  point  more  than  any  other  in  the 
United  States,  demanding  the  aid  of  naval  protection, 
that  point  is  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  whole  western  country  are  dependent  on 
this  single  outlet  for  their  surplus  productions.  These 
productions  can  be  transported  in  no  other  way.  Close 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  their  export  trade  is 
annihilated.  Abandon  all  idea  of  protecting  by  mari- 
time force  the .  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  we  shall 


138  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

hold  the  inestimable  right  of  the  navigation  of  that  river 
by  the  most  precarious  tenure.  The  whole  commerce  of 
the  Mississippi,  a  commerce  that  is  destined  to  be  the 
richest  that  was  ever  borne  by  a  single  stream,  is  placed 
at  the  mercy  of  a  single  ship  lying  off  the  Balize !  Can 
gentlemen,  particularly  from  the  western  country,  con- 
template such  possible,  nay,  probable  events,  without 
desiring  to  see  at  least  the  corrfmencement  of  such  a 
naval  establishment  as  will  effectually  protect  the  Mis- 
sissippi?" He  showed  the  intimate  connection  of  com- 
merce with  a  navy,  by  saying  that  "a  marine  is  the 
natural,  the  appropriate  guardian  of  foreign  commerce. 
The  shepherd  and  his  faithful  dog  are  not  more  necessary 
to  guard  the  flocks  that  browse  and  gambol  on  the  neigh- 
boring mountain.  Neglect  to  provide  the  one,  and  you 
must  abandon  the  other.  Suppose  the  expected  war 
with  Great  Britain  is  commenced — you  enter  and  sub- 
jugate Canada,  and  she  still  refuses  to  do  you  justice — 
what  other  possible  mode  will  remain  to  operate  on  the 
enemy,  but  upon  that  element  where  alone  you  can 
come  in  contact  with  her?  And  if  you  do  not  prepare 
to  protect  there  your  own  commerce  and  to  assail  his, 
will  he  not  sweep  from  the  ocean  every  vessel  bearing 
your  flag,  and  destroy  even  the  coasting  trade  ?"  To 
the  argument  that  foreign  trade  was  not  worth  protect- 
ing, he  asked,  "  What  is  this  foreign  commerce  that  has 
suddenly  become  so  inconsiderable  ?  It  has  with  very 
trifling  aid  from  other  sources,  defrayed  the  expenses  of 
the  government  ever  since  the  adoption  of  the  present 
constitution,  maintained  an  expensive  and  successful  war 
with  the  Indians,  a  war  with  the  Barbary  powers,  a 


HENRY    CLAY.  139 

quasi  war  with  France,  sustained  the  charges  of  sup- 
pressing two  insurrections,  and  extinguishing  upwards 
of  forty-six  millions  of  the  public  debt.  In  revenue,  it 
has  since  the  year  1789  yielded  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
one  millions  of  dollars."  Alluding  to  the  eminenlWan- 
ger  of  our  commercial  metropolis,  he  remarked,  "Is 
there  a  reflecting  man  in  the  nation  who  would  not 
charge  Congress  with  a  culpable  neglect  of  its  duty,  if 
for  the  want  of  such  a  force  a  single  ship  were  to  bombard 
one  of  our  cities  ?  Would  not  every  honorable  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  inflict  on  himself  the  bitterest  re- 
proaches, if  by  failing  to  make  an  inconsiderable  addition 
to  our  gallant  little  navy,  a  single  British  vessel  should 
place  New  York  under  contribution  ?" 

Interested  partisans,  overlooking  the  great  and  endur- 
ing advantages  won  in  the  war  which  Mr.  Clay  did  so 
much  to  sustain,  reflected  on  his  course  in  relation  there- 
to. To  such,  on  January  29th,  1816,  he  replied  with 
patriotic  triumph  as  follows :  "  I  gave  a  vote  for  the 
declaration  of  war.  I  exerted  all  the  little  influence 
and  talents  I  could  command  to  make  the  war.  The 
war  was  made.  It  is  terminated  ;  and  I  declare  with  per- 
fect sincerity,  if  it  had  been  permitted  to  me  to  lift  the 
veil  of  futurity,  and  to  have  foreseen  the  precise  series 
of  events  which  has  occurred,  my  vote  would  have  been 
unchanged.  We  had  been  insulted  and  outraged,  and 
spoliated  upon  by  nearly  all  Europe  ;  by  Great  Britain, 
by  France,  Spain,  Denmark,  Naples,  and,  to  cap  the  cli- 
max, by  the  little  contemptible  power  of  Algiers.  We 
had  submitted  too  long  and  too  much  We  had  be- 


140  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

come  the  scorn  of  foreign  powers,  and  the  derision  of 
our  own  citizens." 

In  August,  1814,  Mr.  Clay  with  other  commissioners 
on  the  part  of  America  met  Lord  Gambier,  Henry  Goul- 
born*  and  William  Adamos,  on  the  part  of  the  British 
government,  assembled  at  Ghent  to  negociate  a  peace. 
In  executing  this  task,  our  countryman  showed  his 
ardent  nationality  of  spirit  in  every  proceeding.  For 
instance,  he  reciprocated  an  act  of  kindness  of  Mr. 
Goulborne,  who  had  sent  him  a  British  periodical  con- 
taining an  account  of  the  taking  of  Washington  by  the 
arms  of  his  Cation,  by  sending  him  some  American 
papers  which  he  had  recently  received,  describing  a 
splendid  victory  won  on  Lake  Champlain  or  Lake  Erie, 
by  the  navy  of  his  country  over  that  of  the  British. 

While  he  was  at  London  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was 
fought,  and  he  witnessed  the  public  rejoicings  on  account 
of  its  favorable  termination  to  the  British.  He  was  one 
day  dining  at  Lord  Castlereagh's  house  in  company  with 
many  of  the  nobility,  when  the  conversation  turned  on 
the  late  victory,  and  the  whereabouts  of  Napoleon,  as 
it  was  not  known  where  he  had  gone.  Some  intimated 
that  he  had  sailed  for  America.  "  Jf  he  goes  there,"  said 
Lord  Liverpool  to  Mr.  Clay,  "  will  he  not  give  you  much 
trouble  ?"  "  None  whatever,"  instantly  replied  Mr.  Clay, 
"  we  shall  be  glad  to  receive  such  a  distinguished,  though 
unfortunate  exile,  and  we  shall  soon  make  a  good  demo- 
crat of  him." 

After  the  close  of  the  war  by  the  treaty  -of  Ghent, 
Mr.  Clay  took  up  with  great  ardor  the  cause  of  South 
American  independence.  To  him  undoubtedly  belongs 


HENRY    CLAY.  141 

the  credit  of  having  first  called  the  attention  of  Con- 
gress and  the  people  to  this  great  subject ;  and  of  having 
contributed  an  earlier  and  a  greater  share,  than  any 
other  person,  to  the  weight  of  argument  and  the  power 
of  persuasion,  by  which  the  public  sentiment  on  the 
subject  was  eventually  fixed.  It  was  in  one  of  the  first 
speeches  made  on  this  subject,  that  he  said  "he  would 
leave  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Delaware  (Mr. 
Horsey)  to  bewail  the  fallen  fortunes  of  the  King  of 
Spain,  without  stopping  to  inquire  whether  their  loss 
was  occasioned.by  treachery  or  not,  or  whether  it  could 
be  traced  to  any  agency  of  the  American  government. 
He  confessed  that  he  had  little  sympathy  for  princes, 
but  that  it  was  reserved  for  the  people,  the  great  mass  of 
mankind,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  the  people 
of  Spain  had  it  most  unreservedly  and  most  sincerely." 
At  a  subsequent  period  Mr.  Clay  was  accused  of  aim- 
ing to  ferment  a  war  between  the  colonies  of  South  Amer- 
ica and  Spain.  To  this  he  replied,  that  if  the  latter  ever 
possessed  a  legal  claim  to  the  allegiance  of  the  former,  she 
had  forfeited  it  by  withholding  that  protection  requisite  to 
entitle  her  to  it,  and  that  consequently  the  people  of 
Spanish  America  were  contending  for  nothing  more 
than  their  legal  and  natural  rights.  "But,"  said  Mr. 
Clay,  "  I  take  a  broader,  bolder  position.  I  maintain 
that  an  oppressed  people  are  authorized,  whenever 
they  can,  to  rise  and  break  their  fetters.  This  was  the 
great  principle  of  the  English  revolution.  It  was  the 
great  principle  of  our  own.  We  must  therefore  pass 
sentence  of  condemnation  upon  the  founders  of  our 
liberty,  say  that  they  were  rebels  and  traitors,  and  that 


142  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

we  are  at  this  moment  legislating  without  competent 
powers,  before  we  can  condemn  the  course  of  Spanish 
America."  He  contended  that  if  we  were  justified  in  our 
attempts  at  independence,  much  more  was  she,  who  had 
writhed  beneath  the  scourge  of  oppression  so  long,  so 
much  longer  than  we  ;  that  if  they  were  worthy  of  suc- 
cess, if  they  were  entitled  to  succeed  from  the  justness 
of  their  cause,  then  surely  we  ought  to  wish  it,  especially 
when  we  consider  the  barbarous  character  of  the  war. 
He  maintained  that  we  were  deeply  interested,  in  recog- 
nizing their  independence.  Even  the^i  our  commerce 
with  those  provinces  was  considerable,  and  would 
greatly  increase  after  they  should  become  permanently 
settled  as  free  and  independent  nations.  The  act  would 
attach  them  to  us,  nay,  it  would  bind  them  to  us,  by  rela- 
tions as  intimate  as  those  of  kindred  ;  they  would  be- 
come our  powerful  allies.  Mr.  Clay  said  he  took  this 
ground,  not  because  he  desired  to  force  our  principles 
where  they  were  not  wished,  but  simply  from  feelings 
of  sympathy.  We  knew  by  experience  how  sweet  it 
was  to  receive  that,  when  we  were  in  circumstances  that 
tried  men's  souls.  There  could  be  no  danger,  nor  objec- 
tion to  stretch  out  towards  their  people  the  hand  of 
friendly  sympathy,  to  present  to  those  abused  and  op- 
pressed communities  an  expression  of  our  good  will,  to 
make  them  a  tender  of  those  great  principles  which  we 
have  adopted  as  the  basis  of  our  institutions.  Theii 
ignorance  and  inability  had  been  brought  forward,  by 
those  opposing  the  measure,  as  completely  incapacitating 
them  foi  self-government.  These,  he  contended,  had 
been  greatly  magnified,  but  admitting  them  to  be  as  un- 


HENRY    CLAY.  143 

qualifying  as  they  had  been  represented  to  be,  the  fact 
ought  rather  to  increase  our  pity  for  them,  and  to  urge 
us  to  seek  the  more  earnestly,  by  all  reasonable  and  just 
means  within  our  reach,  their  liberation  from  that  detest- 
able system  which  chained  them  to  such  a  servile  state. 
He  ridiculed  the  idea  that  recognition  could  be  made  a 
just  pretext  for  war.  "  Recognition,"  said  he,  "  without 
aid,  is  no  just  cause  of  war ;  with  aid,  it  is  not  because 
of  the  recognition,  but  because  of  the  aid,  as  aid  with- 
out recognition  is  cause  of  war."  Mr.  Clay's  efforts 
were  not  successful  at  this  time  ;  no  minister  was  de- 
spatched to  South  America;  the  friendly  mission  was 
deferred  until  1821,  when  he  submitted,  on  the  tenth  oi 
February,  a  resolution  to  the  house,  "declaring  that  the 
House  of  Representatives  participated  with  the  people  of 
the  United  States  in  the  deep  interest  which  they  felt 
for  the  success  of  the  Spanish  provinces  of  South 
America,  which  were  struggling  to  establish  their  liberty 
and  independence,  and  that  it  would  give  its  constitu- 
tional support  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
whenever  he  might  deem  it  expedient  to  recognize  the 
sovereignty  and  independence  of  those  provinces." 

On  the  28th  of  March,  1822,  the  vote  of  recognition 
which  Mr.  Clay  had  so  long  struggled  for,  was  passed 
with  but  one  dissenting  voice.  Thus,  after  a  long  strug- 
gle on  the  part  of  this  palrioCc  statesman,  his  efforts 
were  crowned  with  success  as  complete  as  they  had  been 
persevering.  It  is  said,  that  during  the  forensic  strife, 
his  speeches  were  frequently  read  at  the  head  of  the 
patriot  army,  and  the  effect  was  always  to  increase  their 
intrepidity  and  valor.  The  name  of  Clay  became  associ- 


144  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ated  with  everything  dear  and  valuable  in  freedom,  and 
was  pronounced  by  both  officer  and  soldier  with  rever- 
ence ;  and  many  were  the  epistolary  notices  which  he 
received,  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  his  services 
were  held,  by  that  suffering,  but  successfully  struggling 
people.  The  following  is  a  specimen  : 

BOGOTA,  21st  November,  1827. 

"SiR, — I  cannot  omit  availing  myself  of  the  opportu- 
nity afforded  me  by  the  departure  of  Colonel  Watts, 
charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  States,  of  taking  the 
liberty  to  address  your  Excellency.  This  desire  has  long 
been  entertained  by  me,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing 
my  admiration  of  your  Excellency's  brilliant  talents  and 
ardent  love  of  liberty.  All  America,  Colombia,  and 
myself,  owe  your  Execellency  our  purest  gratitude,  for 
the  incomparable  services  you  have  rendered  to  us,  by 
sustaining  our  course  with  a  sublime  enthusiasm.  Ac- 
cept, therefore,  this  sincere  and  cordial  testimony,  which 
I  hasten  to  offer  your  Excellency  and  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  who  has  so  greatly  contributed  to 
the  emancipation  of  your  southern  brethren. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  offer  to  your  Excellency  my  dis- 
tinguished consideration. 

"  Your  Excellency's  obedient  servant. 
«  BOLIVAR." 

The  ardent  nationality  of  spirit  so  predominant  in 
Mr.  Clay,  was  strikingly  developed  in  his  action  on  the 
Missouri  question.  He  reached  Washington  on  the 
sixteenth  of  January,  1821,  and  found  Congress  in  the 


HENRY    CLAY.  145 

greatest  excitement  and  confusion.  Both  political 
parties  were  excessively  envenomed  and  belligerent. 
The  services  of  an  adroit  and  magnanimous  peace-maker 
were  requisite,  or  national  disunion  threatened  to  be 
the  inevitable  result.  The  opposition  which  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri  had  encountered  in  their  efforts  to  be 
admitted  as  a  State  had  roused  their  anger;  they  insert- 
ed a  clause  in  their  constitution  which  was  most  ob- 
noxious to  the  rest  of  the  Union.  It  ran  as  follows  : 

"  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly,  as 
soon  as  may  be,  to  pass  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary 
to  prevent  free  negroes  and  mulattoes  from  coming  to  or 
settling  in  this  State,  under  any  pretext  whatsoever." 

On  the  10th  of  February,  Mr.  Clay  reported  and  sub- 
mitted the  following  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  State  of  Missouri  be  admitted 
into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
States,  in  all  respects  whatever,  upon  the  fundamental 
condition,  that  the  said  State  shall  never  pass  any  law 
preventing  any  description  of  persons  from  coming  to 
and  settling  in  the  said  State,  who  now  are,  or  may 
hereafter  become,  citizens  of  any  of  the  States  of  this 
Union." 

The  compromise  was  founded  on  this  resolution,  and 
was  mainly  effected  by  the  temper,  sagacity,  and  inde- 
fatigable zeal  of  Mr.  Clay. 

A  still  more  memorable  act  of  pacification,  was  the 
Compromise  Bill,  of  February,  1833.  The  Legislature 
of  South  Carolina  ratified  an  ordinance,  passed  by  a  State 
Convention,  at  Columbia,  in  November,  1832,  declaring 
the  tariff  acts  unconstitutional,  and  utterly  null  and  void. 
7 


148  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

President  Jackson  promptly  issued  his  proclamation,  de 
nouncing  the  doctrines  of  nullification,  and  declared  that 
the  entire  military  force  of  the  United  States,  if  neces- 
sary, should  be  employed  to  put  down  all  opposition  to 
the  General  Government.  His  remonstrances,  however, 
were  unheeded.  Governor  Hayne  immediately  issued 
a  counter  proclamation^  and  the  greatest  national  perils 
became  more  imminent  every  hour.  A  bill  to  enforce 
the  collection  of  the  revenue,  was  brought  before  the 
Senate,  directing  coercive  measures  to  be  employed,  in 
case  of  resistance.  At  this  critical  juncture,  when  the 
political  heavens  gathered  in  thickest  gloom,  Mr.  Clay 
stepped  forth  to  disperse  the  darkness,  and  wave  the 
olive  branch  of  peace  over  the  distracted  nation. 
Never,  perhaps,  were  greater  talent  and  skill  needed, 
than  in  this  crisis,  and  never  were  they  more  success- 
fully employed.  Those  who  heard  his  closing  appeals 
to  the  Senate,  on  the  subject,  will  never  forget  the  effect 
produced  by  sentiments  like  the  following  : 

"Statesmen  should  regulate  their  conduct,  and  adapt 
their  measures  to  the  exigencies  of  the  times  in  which 
they  live.  They  cannot,  indeed,  transcend  the  limits  of 
the  constitutional  rule ;  but  with  respect  to  those  sys- 
tems of  policy  which  fall  within  its  scope,  they  should 
arrange  them  according  to  the  interests,  the  wants,  and 
the  prejudices  of  the  people.  Two  great  dangers 
threaten  the  public  safety.  The  true  patriot  will  not 
stop  to  inquire  how  they  have  been  brought  about,  but 
will  fly  to  the  deliverance  of  his  country.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  friends  and  the  foes  of  the  compromise, 
under  consideration,  is,  that  they  would,  in  the  enforcing 


HENRY    CLAY.  147 

act,  send  forth  alone  a  flaming  sword.  We  would  send 
out  that  also,  but  along  with  it  the  olive  branch,  as  a 
messenger  of  peace.  They  cry  out,  the  law  !  the  law ! 
the  law!  Power!  power!  power!  We,  too,  reverence 
the  law,  and  bow  to  the  supremacy  of  its  obligation  ; 
but  we  are  in  favor  of  the  law  executed  in  mildness,  and 
a  power  tempered  with  mercy.  They,  as  we  think, 
would  hazard  a  civil  commotion,  beginning  in  South 
Carolina,  and  extending,  God  only  knows  where. 
While  we  would  vindicate  the  Federal  Government, 
we  are  for  peace,  if  possible,  union,  and  liberty.  We 
want  no  war,  above  all,  no  civil  war,  no  family  strife. 
We  want  no  sacked  cities,  no  desolated  fields,  no  smok- 
ing ruins,  no  streams  of  American  blood  shed  by  AmeVi- 
can  arms ! 

"I  have  been  accused  of  ambition  in  presenting  this 
measure.  Ambition!  inordinate  ambition  !  If  I  had 
thought  of  myself  only,  I  should  have  never  brought  it 
forward.  I  know  well  the  perils  to  which  I  expose  my- 
self; the  risk  of  alienating  faithful  and  valued  friends, 
with  but  little  prospect  of  making  new  ones,  if  any  new 
ones  could  compensate  for  the  loss  of  those  whom  we 
have  long  tried  and  loved ;  and  the  honest  misconcep- 
tions both  of  friends  and  foes.  Ambition  !  If  I  had 
listened  to  its  soft  and  seducing  whispers  ;  if  I  had 
yielded  myself  to  the  dictates  of  a  cold,  calculating,  and 
prudential  policy,  I  would  have  stood  still  and  unmoved. 
I  might  even  have  silently  gazed  on  the  raging  storm, 
enjoyed  its  loudest  thunders,  and  left  those  who  are 
charged  with  the  care  of  the  vessel  of  State,  to  conduct 
it  as  they  could:  I  have  been  heretofore  often  unjustly 


148  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

accused  of  ambition.  Low,  grovelling  souls,  who  are 
utterly  incapable,  of  elevating  themselves  to  the  higher 
and  nobler  duties  of  pure  patriotism — beings,  who,  for 
ever  keeping  their  o\\n  selfish  aims  in  view,  decide  all 
public  measures  by  their  presumed  influence  on  their 
aggrandizement — judge  me  by  the  vena}  rule  which  they 
prescribe  to  themselves.  I  have  given  to  the  winds 
those  false  accusations,  as  I  consign  that  which  now  im- 
peaches my  motives.  I  have  no  desire  for  office,  not 
even  the  highest.  The  most  exalted  is  but  a  prison,  in 
which  the  incarcerated  incumbent  daily  receives  his 
cold,  heartless  visitants,  marks  his  weary  hours,  and  is 
cut  oft' from  the  practical  enjoyment  of  all  the  blessings 
of'genuine  freedom.  I  am  no  candidate  for  any  office 
in  the  gift  of  the  people  of  these  States,  united  or  sepa- 
rated ;  I  never  wish,  never  expect  to  be.  Pass  this  bill, 
tranquillize  the  country,  restore  confidence  and  affection 
in  the  Union,  and  I  am  willing  to  go  home  to  Ashland, 
and  renounce  public  service  for  ever.  I  should  there 
find,  in  its  groves,  under  its  shades,  on  its  lawns,  amidst 
rny  flocks  and  herds,  in  the  bosom  of  my  family,  sincerity 
and  truth,  attachment,  and  fidelity,  and  gratitude,  which 
I  have  not  always  found  in  the  walks  of  public  life. 
Yes,  I  have  ambition ;  but  it  is  the  ambition  of  being 
the  humble  instrument,  in  the  hands  of  Providence,  to 
reconcile  a  divided  people ;  once  more  to  revive  concord 
and  harmony  in  a  distracted  land — the  pleasing  ambition 
of  contemplating  the  glorious  spectacle  of  a  free,  united, 
prosperous,  and  fraternal  people !" 

During  the  famous  debate  on  the  Deposites  question 
in  the  Senate,  near  the  close  of  April,  1833,  Mr.  Leigh, 


HENKV    CLAY.  149 

of  Virginia,  paid  Mr.  Clay  a  rich  and  merited  compli- 
ment, for  his  services  in  allaying  the  spirit  of  Southern 
nullification.  "  I  cannot  but  remember,"  said  he,  "  when 
all  men  were  trembling  under  the  apprehension  of  civil 
war — trembling  from  the  conviction,  that  if  such  a  con- 
test should  arise,  let  it  terminate  how  it  might,  it  would 
put  our  present  institutions  in  jeopardy,  and  end  either 
in  consolidation  or  disunion;  for  I  am  pursuaded  that  the 
first  drop  of  blood  which  shall  be  shed  in  a  civil  strife 
between  the  Federal  Government  and  any  State,  will 
flow  from  an  irremediable  wound,  that  none  may  ever 
hope  to  see  healed.  I  cannot  but  remember,  that  the 
President,  though  wielding  such  a  vast  power  and  influ- 
ence, never  contributed  the  least  aid  to  bring  about  the 
compromise  that  saved  us  from  the  evils  which  all  men, 
I  believe,  and  I,  certainly,  so  much  dreaded.  The  men 
are  not  present  to  whom  we  are  chiefly  indebted  for  that 
compromise  ;  and  I  am  glad  they  are  absent,  since  it 
enables  me  to  speak  of  their  conduct,  as  I  feel  I  might 
not  without,  from  a  sense  of  delicacy.  I  -.ise  my  hum- 
ble voice  in  gratitude  for  that  service,  to  ll.-.nry  Clay  of 
the  Senate,  and  Robert  P.  Letcher,  of  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives." 

Before  leaving  the  consideration  of  Mr.  Clay's  ardent 
nationality  of  spirit,  we  will  subjoin  one  more  extract, 
which  is  at  once  a  good  specimen  of  his  style,  and  an 
admirable  exposition  of  his  own  character  as  a  politician. 
It  is  from  an  unpremeditated  rejoinder  to  Mr.  Rives,  in 
the  Senate,  August  19th,  1841,  in  which  he  gave  his 
famous  definition  ofpultic  virtue. 

"  I  rose  not  to  say  one  word  which  should  wound  the 


150  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

feelings  of  President  Tyler.  The  senator  says  that,  if 
placed  in  like  circumstances,  I  would  have  been  the  last 
man  to  avoid  putting  a  direct  veto  upon  the  Bill,  had  it 
met  my  disapprobation  ;  and  he  does  me  the  honor  to 
attribute  to  me  high  qualities  of  stern  and  unbending  in- 
trepidity. I  hope,  that  in  all  that  relates  to  personal 
firmness,  all  that  concerns  a  just  appreciation  of  the  in- 
significance of  human  life — whatever  may.  be  attempted 
to  threaten  or  alarm  a  soul  not  easily  swayed  by  oppo- 
sition, or  awed  or  intimidated  by  menace — a  stout  heart 
and  a  steady  eye,  that  can  survey,  unmoved  and  un- 
daunted, any  mere  personal  perils  that  assail  this  poor, 
transient,  perishing  frame,  I  may,  without  disparagement, 
compare  with  other  men.  But  there  is  a  sort  of  courage, 
which,  I  frankly  confess  it,  I  do  not  possess,  a  boldness 
to  which  I  dare  not  aspire,  a  valor  which  I  cannot  covet. 
I  cannot  lay  myself  down  in  the  way  of  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  my  country.  That  I  cannot,  I  have  not 
the  courage  to  do.  I  cannot  interpose  the  power  with 
which  I  may  be  invested,  a  power  conferred  not  for  my 
personal  benefit,  nor  for  my  aggrandizement,  but  for  my 
country's  good,  to  check  her  onward  march  to  greatness 
and  glory.  I  have  not  courage  enough,  I  am  too 
cowardly  for  that.  I  would  not,  I  dare  not,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  such  a  trust,  lie  down,  and  place  my  body  across 
the  path  that  leads  my  country  to  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness. This  is  a  sort  of  courage  widely  different  from 
that  which  a  man  may  display  in  his  private  conduct 
and  personal  relations.  Personal  or  private  courage  is 
totally  distinct  from  that  higher  and  nobler  courage  which 


HENRY    CLAY.  151 

prompts  the  patriot  to  offer  himself  a  voluntary  sacrifice 
to  his  country's  good." 

"  Nor  did  I  say,  as  the  senator  represents,  that  the 
President  should  have  resigned.  I  intimated  no  per- 
sonal wish  or  desire  that  he  should  resign  I  referred  to 
the  fact  of  a  memorable  resignation  in  his  public  life. 
And  what  I  did  say  was,  that  there  were  other  alterna- 
tives before  him  besides  Vetoing  the  Bill ;  and  that  it  was 
worthy  of  his  consideration  whether  consistency  did  not 
require  that  the  example  which  he  had  set  when  he  had 
a  constituency  of  one  State,  should  not  be  followed  whan 
he  had  a  constituency  commensurate  with  the  whole 
Union.  Another  alternative  was,  to  suffer  the  Bill, 
without  his  signature,  to  pass  into  a  law  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Constitution.  And  I  must  confess,  I  see, 
in  this,  no  such  escaping  by  the  back  door,  no  such 
jumping  out  of  the  window,  as  the  senator  talks  about. 
Apprehensions  of  the  imputation  of  the  want  of  firm- 
ness sometimes  impels  us  to  perform  rash  and  inconside- 
rate acts.  It  is  the  greatest  courage  to  be  able  to  bear 
the  imputation  of  the  want  of  courage.  But  pride, 
vanity,  egotism,  so  unamiable  and  offensive  in  private 
life,  are  vices  which  partake  of  the  character  of  crimes, 
in  the  conduct  of  public  affairs.  The  unfortunate  vic- 
tim of  these  passions  cannot  see  beyond  the  little,  petty, 
contemptible  circle  of  his  own  personal  interests.  All 
his  thoughts  are  withdrawn  from  his  country,  and  con- 
centrated on  his  consistency,  his  firmness,  himself.  The 
high,  the  exalted,  the  sublime  emotions  of  a  patriotism, 
which,  soaring  toward  heaven,  rises  far  above  all  mean, 
low,  or  selfish  things,  and  is  absorbed  by  one  soul  trans- 


152  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

porting  thought  of  the  good  and  the  glory  of  one's 
country,  are  never  felt  in  his  impenetrable  bosom.  That 
patriotism  which,  catching  its  inspirations  from  the  im- 
mortal God,  and  leaving  at  an  immeasurable  distance 
below  all  lesser,  grovelling,  personal  interests  and  feel- 
ings, animates  and  prompts  to  deeds  of  self -sacrifice,  of 
valor,  of  devotion,  and  of  death  itself — that  is  public 
virtue  ;  that  is  the  noblest,  the  sublimest  of  all  public 
virtues !" 

Two  prominent  characteristics  in  Mr.  Clay,  we  have 
already  considered ;  it  remains,  thirdly,  to  portray  his 
impressive  manner  of  address.  In  doing  this  it  will  be 
necessary  to  describe  his  person,  his  elocution,  and  the 
chief  sources  of  his  eloquence. 

In  the  first  place,  we  would  remark  that  perhaps  the 
best  general  description  of  Mr.  Clay's  person  is  found 
in  Uncle  Sam's  Letters,  and  is  as  follows  : 

"  There  is  a  tall,  light-haired,  blue-eyed,  individual, 
sixty  years  old  or  more,  who  occupies  a  seat  in  the 
Senate,  at  the  Capitol.  He  has  not  what  would  be 
called  a  handsome  face,  but  one  of  the  liveliest,  or,  if  we 
may  so  speak,  one  of  the  most  looking  faces  that  ever 
fronted  a  head.  It  is  because  he  has  a  looking  organi- 
zation. You  catch  not  him  asleep  or  moping.  He 
seems  to  see  everybody  that  comes  in  or  goes  out,  and 
besides  to  have  an  eye  on,  and  an  ear  for,  whatever  honor- 
•able  senator  may  occupy  the  field  of  debate.  If  his 
own  marked  political  game  is  on  foot,  he  is  then  NIMROD, 
a  mighty  hunter.  He  can  see  just  what  fissure  of  in- 
consistency, nook  of  sophism  or  covert  of  rhetoric,  is  made 
a  hiding-place.  At  the  right  moment,  he  aims  a  rifle 


HENRY    C2.AY.  153 

pretty  sure  to  hit,  if  his  powder  is  good ;  and  his  friends 
say,  that  he  uses  the  best.  Grand  fun  it  is,  to  stand  by, 
and  see  this  keen  sportsman  crack  off,  and  especially  to 
hear  him  wind  "the  mellow,  mellow  horn,"  which  his 
mother  gave  him  a  long  while  ago,  to  leave  our  hunting- 
ground  metaphor,  for  the  plain  beaten  way,  this  indi- 
vidual veteran  statesman  from  Kentucky.  Now  just 
come  and  look  at  his  head,  or  seek  his  portrait,  at  least. 
You  will  see  how  his  perceptives  put  themselves  forth  in 
front,  as  if  they  were  reaching  after  their  objects,  as  it  were, 
for  a  long  pull,  and  a  strong  pull,  to  fetch  them  into  keeping. 
Then,  in  speech,  with  what  ease,  grace,  order,  and  effect, 
he  can  fling  forth  his  gatherings.  His  mind  has  been 
developed  by  the  exciting  circumstances  of  active  life, 
rather  than  by  the  speculations  of  quiet  books.  Henry 
Clay  is  therefore  a  practical  man.  He  is  pre-eminently 
perceptive.  He  knows  the  whom,  the  what,  the  where, 
the  when,  the  which  first,  and  the  how  many,  as  well, 
perhaps,  as  any  public  man  living.  A  very  long  political 
life  has  put  him  to  the  test.  We  do  not  aver  that  he  never 
made  mistakes,  or  that  he  is  politically  and  positively 
right ;  we  intimate,  moreover,  nothing  to  the  contrary 
We  would  simply  convey,  that  of  all  the  great  states- 
men of  our  country,  he  particularly  illustrates  the  facul 
ties  just  had  under  review." 

From  this  general  statement,  let  us  descend  to  more 
particular  detail.  Mr.  Clay  is  reported  to  be  exactly 
six  feet  one  inch  high  ;  he  is  not  stout,  but  the  op- 
posite ;  has  long  arms,  and  small  hands;  is  always  up- 
right in  standing,  walking,  or  talking ;  and  is  particu- 
7* 


154  LIVING    OUATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

larly  erect  when  engaged  in  debate.  Seen  in  front,  his 
countenance  is  impressive  ;  his  profile  is  very  striking. 
His  visage  is  spare,  mouth  large,  lips  compressed,  nose 
prominent,  forehead  retreating,  hair  light  and  thin,  eyes 
rather  small,  blue,  and,  when  kindled,  sparkling  with 
electric  fire.  Other  traits  will  be  more  fully  portrayed 
as  we  notice 

Secondly,  his  elocution.  Mr.  Clay  is  less  graceful,  than 
earnest,  impressive  and  unrestrained  ;  free  and  wild  as 
the  elk  of  the  forest,  it  is  said  all  his  gestures  were  in 
early  manhood.  A  manifest  harmony  existed  between 
the  suggestions  of  his  mind  and  the  movements  of  his 
limbs,  and  this  imparted  an  indescribable  charm  to  his 
action.  He  did  not  vociferate  with  weary  lungs  and 
sweating  brow,  at  the  same  time  standing  with  listless 
hands,  and  elbows  turned  to  his  hips.  Whenever  he  is 
in  earnest,  he  talks  all  over,  and  there  is  a  language  in 
liis  limbs  which  says  as  clearly  as  that  of  the  lips,  "  these 
were  given  to  clasp  the  beautiful  and  cleave  the 
wave."  He  seerns  exhilarated,  like  one  mounted  on  a 
high-mettled  courser;  not  that  he  seeks  display,  but  a 
little  curvetting  accords  well  with  his  native  spirits,  and 
withal  he  is  a  little  proud  of  his  glorious  steed.  Its 
snort,  its  whinny,  its  impatient  pawing  of  the  earth, 
the  elasticity  of  all  its  motions,  and  the  full  confidence 
the  excited  rider  feels  in  its  speed  and  force,  elate  him. 
He  knows  the  steed  beneath  him  will  carry  him  any- 
where— leap  any  barrier,  however  formidable — will  dis- 
tance any  competitor,  however  fleet.  In  this  orator 
especially,  free  will  is  bi't  necessity  in  play. 


HENRY    CLAY.  155 

"  The  clattering  of  the  golden  reins  which  guide 
The  thunder-footed  couriers  of  the  sun." 

Mr.  Clay's  voice  has  prodigious  power,  compass,  and 
richness ;  all  its  variations  are  captivating,  but  some  of 
its  base  tones  thrill  through  one's  whole  frame.  To 
those  who  have  never  heard  the  living  melody,  no 
verbal  description  can  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
diversified  effect  of  those  intonations  which  in  one  strain 
of  sentiment  fall  in  whispering  gentleness,  "like  the 
first  words  of  love  upon  a  maiden's  lips,"  and  anon,  in 
sterner  utterances,  "  ring  with  the  maddening  music  of 
the  main."  The  magician  is  well .  aware  of  the  seduc- 
tive power  of  his  voice,  and  employs  it  with  great  effect 
in  the  moderate,  as  well  as  the  more  impassioned  por- 
tions of  his  speeches.  Such  is  its  fascination,  that  the 
most  familiar  expressions  take  from  it  an  air  of  novelty 
and  dignity,  and  the  more  excitable  in  the  audience, 
waiting  for  an  eloquential  pause,  would  say  : 

11  Thy  sweet  words  drop  upon  the  ear  as  soft 
As  rose  leaves  on  a  well :  and  I  could  listen, 
As  though  the  immortal  melody  of  Heaven 
Were  wrought  into  one  word — that  word  a  whisper, 
That  whisper  all  I  want  from  all  I  lore." 

Consummate  eloquence  is  the  rarest,  as  well  as  the 
most  valuable  of  gifts,  because  it  is  so  uncommon  to 
meet  with  one  who  has  no  less  oratory  in  the  tones  of 
his  voice,  in  the  language  of  his  eyes,  and  in  the  gene- 
ral air  of  his  person,  than  in  the  profusion  of  his  wis- 
dom and  the  choice  of  his  words.  In  such  rare  in- 
stances, every  sentiment  will  have  an  intonation 


156  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

peculiar  to  itself,  and  both  gestures  and  looks  will  be  in 
exact  keeping  with  what  in  language  is  expressed.  It 
is  this  relation,  true  or  false,  that  makes  all  the  difference 
between  the  agreeable  and  disagreeable,  pleasing  and 
displeasing,  among  public  speakers.  Fortunate  indeed 
is  he  who  has  received  from  nature  an  engaging  face 
and  figure,  a  strong  memory,  vivid  imagination,  and 
sonorous  tones  of  voice  capable  of  being  modulated 
with  varied  compass,  so  as  to  stimulate  and  excite  an 
audience  with  the  indescribable  effects  which  have  often 
been  produced  by  Mr.  Clay.  His  look  and  action 
vividly  interpret  his  thought  while  he  speaks,  as  Mi- 
chael Angelo  found  in  the  depth  of  his  own  mind  and 
grandeur  of  conception,  the  means  of  rendering  the 
immediate  effect  of  will  and  power  intuitive  in  the  crea- 
tion of  Adam,  by  darting  life  from  the  finger  of  Omni- 
potence in  an  effulgent  ray  ;  and  as  the  coalition  of 
light  and  darkness  opened  to  the  entranced  eye  of  Cor- 
reggio  the  means  of  embodying  the  Mosaic  sentence 
"  Let  there  be  light,"  in  that  stream  of  glory  which, 
issuing  from  the  Divine  Infant  in  his  Notte,  proclaims  a 
God. 

Natural  expression  is  the  luminous  .image  of  actual 
passion,  its  spontaneous  language  and  speaking  portrait, 
always  composed  of  simplicity,  propriety,  and  energy, 
as  its  three  invariable  and  most  intelligent  elements. 
This  is  a  great  forte  with  Mr.  Clay ;  he  can  "  light 
at  will  expression's  brightest  blaze."  Mental  vivacity 
animates  the  features,  attitudes,  and  gestures,  which 
nature  has  prompted,  and  long  practice  improved. 
Beep  emotions,  whose  inward  energy  penetrate  and 


'  '         HENRY    CLAY.  157 

invest  his  supple  form,  render  him  exceedingly  com- 
manding in  action,  and  forcible  in  speech.  Nothing 
can  be  more  captivating  than  the  smiles  that  some- 
times light  up  his  countenance  while  speaking,  not  un- 
frequently  succeeded  by  frowns  as  impressive,  which 
outward  language  is  as  intimately  mixed  and  strikingly 
expressed  as  the  latent  emotions  of  his  mind.  It  pre- 
sents a  pleasing  series  of  effects,  constituting  diversified 
transitions  and  perpetual  progress,  each  gleam,  when  its 
end  is  attained,  giving  place  to  another,  and  leaving  no 
trace  behind  : 

"  Brief  as  the  lightning  in  the  collied  night, 
That  in  a  spleen  unfolds  both  heaven  and  earth ; 
And  ere  a  man  has  time  to  say,  behold ! 
The  jaws  of  darkness  do  devour  it  up." 

Hazlitt  has  finely  discriminated  between  nature 
elevated  by  genius  and  nature  literally  copied  by  talent, 
in  his  parallel  between  Raphael  and  Hogarth.  The 
figures  of  the  former,  he  says,  are  sustained  by  ideas ; 
those  of  the  latter  are  distorted  by  mechanical  habits 
and  instincts.  "  It  is  elevation  of  thought  that  gives 
grandeur  and  delicacy  of  expression  to  passion.  The 
expansion  and  refinement  of  the  soul  are  seen  in  the 
face,  as  in  a  mirror.  An  enlargement  of  purpose  gives 
corresponding  enlargement  of  form.  The  mind,  as  it 
were,  acts  over  the  whole  body,  and  animates  it  equally, 
while  petty  and  local  interests  seize  on  particular  parts, 
and  distract  it  by  contrary  and  mean  expressions.  Now, 
if  mental  expression  has  this  superior  grandeur  and 
grace,  we  can  account  at  once  for  the  superiority  of 


158  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Raphael.  For  there  is  no  doubt,  that  it  is  more  difficult 
to  give  a  whole  continuously  and  proportionally  than  to 
give  the  parts  separate  and  disjointed,  or  to  diffuse  the 
same  subtle  but  powerful  expression  over  a  large  mass 
than  to  caricature  it  in  a  single  part  or  feature.  The 
actions  in  Raphael  are  like  a  branch  of  a  tree  swept  by 
the  surging  blast ;  those  in  Hogarth  like  straws  whirled 
and  twitched  about  in  the  gusts  and  eddies  of  passion." 
What  the  great  Italian  was  among  artists,  we  hold 
Henry  Clay  to  be  among  orators.  He  has  a  fine  per- 
son, striking  features,  and,  as  we  have  said,  a  most  fas- 
cinating manner  of  address ;  but  these  are  far  from 
being  his  only  or  chief  attributes.  There  is  a  mind  in 
him,  a  moral  power  far  more  valuable  to  a  statesman 
than  all  the  vaunted  arts  of  elaborated  grace  or  affected 
elocution.  Nature  has  given  him  a  strong  and  clear 
understanding,  which  he  has  vigorously  exercised  on  a 
great  variety  of  political  and  moral  topics.  He  has 
read  many  valuable  authors,  and  pondered  much  on 
their  principles.  And  yet  he  has  never  carried  the 
habits  of  private  meditation  so  far  as  to  render  him  pro- 
fessional and  didactic  in  his  public  life — has  ever  main- 
tained the  freedom  and  force  of  an  energetic  leader, 
without  assuming  the  part  of  an  astute  essayist  or  tire- 
some pedant.  His  speeches  are  more  in  conformity 
with  the  prevailing  spirit  and  characteristics  of  the 
American  people  than  any  other  extant ;  wildly  beau- 
tiful and  earnestly  grand,  yet  alternately  gay  and  so- 
lemnly compressed  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  When- 
ever he  appears  on  the  rostrum  to  discuss  a  great  and 
exciting  question,  there  is  such  clearness  in  his  thought 


HENRY    CLAY.  159 

and  witchery  in  his  manner  that  the  entranced  listener 
is  inclined  to  say, 

"  I  love  that  voice 

Dipping  more  sofly  on  the  subject  ear 
Than  that  calm  kiss  the  willow  gives  the  wave— < 
A  soft,  rich  tone,  a  rainbow  of  sweet  sounds, 
Just  spanning  the  soothed  sense." 

This  leads  us,  in  the  third  place,  to  consider  some  of 
the  chief  sources  of  Mr.  Clay's  eloquence.  These  are, 
we  think,  native  enterprise,  an  ardent  temperament, 
sagacious  patriotism,  and  indomitable  perseverance. 
We  will  illustrate  these  points  in  the  order  named. 

And  first,  had  not  Mr.  Clay  come  into  the  world  with 
a  soul  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  enterprise, 
he  would  have  perished  in  the  deep  obscurity  of  his 
origin,  unhonored  and  unsung.  In  a  touching  piece  of 
auto-biography,  contained  in  a  speech  delivered  by  him 
at  Lexington,  June  9,  1842,  on  the  occasion  of  his  re- 
tirement from  public  life,  Mr.  Clay  puts  this  matter  in 
a  strong  light.  Said  he  : 

"In  looking  back  upon  ray  origin  and  progress 
through  life,  I  have  great  reason  ,to  be  thankful.  My 
father  died  in  1781,  leaving  me  an  infant  of  too  tender 
years  to  retain  any  recollection  of  his  smiles  or  endear- 
ments. My  surviving  parent  removed  to  this  State  in 
1792,  leaving  me  a  boy  of  fifteen  years  of  age,  in  the 
office  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  in  the  city  of 
Richmond,  without  guardian,  without  pecuniary  means 
of  support,  to  steer  my  course  as  I  might  or  could.  A 
neglected  education  was  improved  by  my  own  irregular 


160  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA 

exertions,  without  the  benefit  of  systematic  instruction. 
I  studied  law  principally  in  the  office  of  a  lamented 
friend,  the  late  Governor  Brooke,  then  Attorney  Gene- 
ral of  Virginia,  and  also  under  the  auspices  of  the  vene- 
rable and  lamented  Chancellor  Wythe,  for  whom  I  had 
acted  as  an  amanuensis.  I  obtained  a  license  to  practice 
the  profession  from  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
of  Virginia,  and  established  myself  in  Lexington,  in 
1797,  without  patrons,  without  the  favor  or  countenance 
of  the  great  or  opulent,  without  the  means  of  paying 
my  weekly  board,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  bar  uncom- 
monly distinguished  by  eminent  members.  I  remember 
how  comfortable  I  thought  I  should  be,  if  I  could  make 
one  hundred  pounds  Virginia  money,  per  year,  and 
with  what  delight  I  received  the  first  fifteen  shillings  fee. 
My  hopes  were  more  than  realized.  I  immediately 
rushed  into  a  successful  and  lucrative  practice. 

"  In  1803  or  4,  when  I  was  absent  from  the  county  of 
Fayette  at  the  Olympian  Springs,  without  my  knowledge 
or  previous  consent,  I  was  brought  forward  as  a  candi- 
date, and  elected  to  the  general  assembly  of  this  State. 
I  served  in  that  body  several  years,  and  was  then  trans- 
ferred to  the  senate,  and  afterwards  to  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives of  the  United  States.  I  will  not  dwell  on 
the  subsequent  events  of  my  political  life,  or  enumerate 
the  offices  which  I  have  filled.  During  my  public  ca- 
reer, I  have  had  bitter,  implacable,  reckless  enemies. 
But  if  I  have  been  the  object  of  misrepresentation  and 
unmerited  calumny,  no  man  has  been  beloved  or  hon- 
ored by  more  devoted,  faithful,  and  enthusiastic  friends. 
I  have  no  reproaches,  none,  to  make  towards  my  coun- 


H£NRY    C1AY.  101 

try,  which  has  distinguished  and  elevated  me  far  beyond 
what  I  had  any  right  to  expect.  I  forgive  my  enemies, 
and  hope  they  may  live  to  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  their 
own  hearts." 

Intimately  associated  with  this  native  spirit  of  mag- 
nanimous enterprise  in  Mr.  Clay,  is  his  ardent  tempera- 
ment. These  are  qualities  which  happily  unite  in  him, 

"  Like  rays  of  stars  that  meet  in  space, 
And  mingle  in  a  bright  embrace.'* 

The  ardor  of  Mr.  Clay's  nature  was  strongly  developed, 
and  foretokened  his  fame,  from  the  time  he  emigrated  to 
Kentucky,  "  now  nearly  forty-five  years  ago,"  as  he  said 
on  a  memorable  occasion.  "  I  went  as  an  orphan  boy 
who  had  not  yet  attained  the  age  of  majority  ;  who  had 
never  recognized  a  father's  smile,  nor  felt  his  warm  ca- 
resses; poor,  penniless,  without  the  favor  of  the  great, 
with  an  imperfect  and  neglected  education,  hardly  suffi- 
cient for  the  ordinary  business  and  common  pursuits  of 
life ;  but  scarce  had  I  set  my  foot  upon  "her  generous 
soil,  when  I  was  embraced  with  parental  fondness,  ca- 
ressed as  though  I  had  been  a  favorite  child,  and  patron- 
ized with  liberal  and  unbounded  munificence.  From 
that  period  the  highest  honors  of  the  State  have  been 
freely  bestowed  upon  me  ;  and  when,  in  the  darkest  hour 
of  calumny  and  detraction,  I  seemed  to  be  assailed  by 
all  the  rest  of  the  world,  she  interposed  her  broad  and 
impenetrable  shield,  repelled  the  poisoned  shafts  that 
were  aimed  for  my  destruction,  and  vindicated  my  good 
name  from  every  malignant  and  unfounded  aspersion. 
I  return  with  indescribable  pleasure  to  linger  a  while 


102  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

longer,  and  mingle  with  the  warm-hearted  and  whole- 
souled  people  of  that  State  ;  and,  when  the  last  scene 
shall  for  ever  close  upon  me,  I  hope  that  my  earthly  re- 
mains will  be  laid  under  her  green  sod  with  those  of  her 
gallant  and  patriotic  sons." 

The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  occasioned  one  of  his 
earliest  and  most  brilliant  popular  harangues.  It  is  re- 
lated that  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  people  were  assem- 
bled in  large  numbers  in  a  grove  near  Lexington,  to 
listen  to  a  discussion  to  come  off  between  the  advocates 
and  opposers  of  these  laws.  The  greatest  interest  had 
been  awakened,  extensive  preparation  made  by  the  com- 
batants, and  with  the  most  inflammatory  zeal  they  en- 
tered the  lists.  The  historian  of  the  scene  goes  on  to 
say: 

"  The  assemblage  was  first  addressed  by  Mr.  George 
Nicholas,  a  gentleman  of  distinguished  ability  and  com- 
manding eloquence.  His  effort  is  represented  as  having 
been  one  of  great  vigor,  and  characterized  by  that 
logical  and  philosophical  acumen,  for  which  he  was  so 
celebrated.  When  he  ceased,  the  populace,  wrought  up 
to  the  highest  degree  of  enthusiasm,  poured  out  their 
rapturous  applause.  'Clay,'  'Clay,'  was  now  loudly 
called  from  all  directions,  and  as  he  ascended  the  stand, 
it  was  clearly  perceptible  by  his  eagle  eye  and  com- 
pressed lips,  that  no  ordinary  emotions  were  struggling 
in  his  bosom.  As  the  spirit  of  the  tempest  finds  the 
ocean  when  he  descends  in  his  mightiest  energy,  so  he 
found  the  boisterous  mass  swelling  to  and  fro  like  the 
surges  of  the  deep.  But  he  was  at  home,  doing  his  legiti- 
mate work,  pouring  the  oil  of  eloquence  over  a  turbulent 


HENRY    CLAT.  163 

sea  of  passion,  until  its  tumultuous  heavings  subsided 
and  left  one  quiet,  calm,  and  unruffled  surface.  The 
subject  in  his  hands,  appeared  in  a  new  light,  and  he 
soon  succeeded  in  securing  for  it  that  attention  which  is 
accompanied  with  feelings  too  deep  for  utterance  ;  like 
those  experienced  by  one  standing  on  the  edge  of  a  cra- 
ter, gazing  down  into  its  fiery  abyss.  His  predecessor 
had  poured  a  flood  of  sunshine  over  the  multitude, 
which  caused  those  heartfelt,  spontaneous  out-gushings 
of  joyful  emotion,  which  are  its  usual  concomitants. 
But  his  office  was  that  of  the  lightning's  flash  and  thun- 
der peal,  hushing,  awing,  and  subduing.  When  he 
closed  there  were  no  clamorous  expressions,  no  deafen- 
ing shouts  of  applause,  but  something  far  more  signifi- 
cant, he  read  in  the  quivering  lips,  indignant  looks,  and 
frowning  brows  around  him  ;  and  heard,  in  the  deep 
low  growl  that  came  up,  a  much  more  flattering  tribute 
to  his  talents.  He  was  followed  by  Mr.  William  Mur- 
ray, an  orator  of  great  popularity,  and  well  qualified  to 
exhibit  acceptably  the  merits  of  those  laws,  if  indeed 
they  possessed  any.  His  efforts,  however,  were  futile. 
The  conviction  of  their  pernicious  tendency  had  been 
planted  too  deep  in  the  minds  of  the  people  by  Mr. 
Clay,  to  permit  them  to  listen  to  their  merits,  or  to  al- 
low them  to  believe  that  they  had  any.  He  would  not 
have  been  suffered  to  proceed  had  not  the  previous 
speakers  urgently  solicited  permission.  Another  attempt 
was  made  to  reply,  but  the  people  could  be  restrained 
no  longer,  and  made  a  furious  rush  towards  the  place 
occupied  by  the  speaker,  who  was  compelled  to  make  a 
prpp.i'~:*-»te  retreat  to  escape  personal  violence.  They 


164  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

now  seized  Nicholas  and  Clay,  bore  them  on  their 
shoulders  to  a  carriage,  and  amid  the  most  enthusiastic 
cheering,  drew  them  through  the  streets  of  Lexington. 
A  proud  day  was  this  for  Mr.  Clay  ;  a  day  in  which  he 
earned  a  far  more  glorious  title  than  any  that  royal 
hands  could  confer  upon  him,  that  of  the  '  great  com- 
moner/ It  \vas  the  first  of  the  bright  days  of  the  years 
of  his  fame — the  sure  precursor  of  that  unfading  chaplet 
which  time  was  destined  to  bind  about  his  brow." 

While  yet  young,  Mr.  Clay's  eloquence  partook  of  the 
warmth  of  his  blood  ;  his  speech  was  the  fire  of  passion, 
tinged  by  the  imagination  of  the  South.  When  he  en- 
tered the  State  Legislature,  he  immediately  became  a 
notable  star.  The  fixed  gaze  of  antagonists,  excited 
crowds  in  the  galleries,  and  earnest  attention  every- 
where, attested  the  advent  of  one  of  those  grand  actors 
in  the  political  drama  of  the  world,  destined  powerfully 
to  agitate  all  parties,  be  applauded  to  the  echo  by  mil- 
lions, and  at  the  same  time,  the  penalty  of  all  true  great- 
ness, be  the  object  of  most  malignant  hate.  This  is  the 
result  of  extraordinary  native  force,  the  first  look  or 
syllable  of  which  in  a  moment  elevates  its  possessor  im- 
mensely above  all  common  men.  The  mode  in  which 
this  truth  was  exemplified  by  Mr.  Clay  while  in  the 
Legislature  of  Kentucky,  is  forcibly  described  by  one 
intimately  acquainted  with  him.  '  He  appears  to  have 
been  the  pervading  spirit  of  the  whole  body.  He  never 
came  to  the  debates  without  the  knowledge  necessary  to 
the  perfect  elucidation  of  his  subject,  and  he  always  had 
the  power  of  making  his  knowledge  so  practical,  and 
lighting  it  so  brightly  up  with  the  fire  of  eloquence,  and 


HENRY    CLAY.  165 

the  living  soul  of  intellect,  that  without  resorting  to  the 
arts  of  insidiousness,  he  could  generally  control  the 
movements  of  the  Legislature  at  will.  His  was  not  an 
undue  influence ;  it  was  the  simple  ascendancy  of  mind 
over  mind.  The  bills  which  originated  with  him,  in- 
stead of  being  characterized  by  the  eccentricities  and 
ambitious  innovations  which  are  too  often  visible  in  the 
course  of  young  men  of  genius  suddenly  elevated  to 
power  and  influence,  were  remarkable  only  for  their 
plain  common  sense,  and  their  tendency  to  advance  the 
substantial  interests  of  the  State.  Though  he  carried 
his  plans  into  effect  by  the  aid  of  the  magical  incanta- 
tions of  the  orator,  he  always  conceived  them  with  the 
coolness  and  discretion  of  a  philosopher.  No  subject 
was  so  great  as  to  baffle  his  powers,  none  so  minute  as 
to  elude  them.  He  could  handle  the  telescope  and  the 
microscope  with  equal  skill.  In  him  the  haughty  dema- 
gogues of  the  Legislature  found  an  antagonist  who 
never  failed  to  foil  them  in  their  bold  projects,  and  the 
intriguers  of  lower  degree  were  baffled  with  equal  cer- 
tainty whenever  they  attempted  to  get  any  petty  mea- 
sure through  the  house  for  their  own  personal  gratifica- 
tion or  that  of  their  friends.  The  people,  therefore, 
justly  regarded  him  as  emphatically  their  own." 

In  some  of  the  debates  he  conducted  in  those  days,  he 
must  have  been  very  effective.  A  gentleman  who  was 
present,  describes  his  speech,  as  having  been  a  perfect 
model.  "  Every  muscle  of  the  orator's  face  was  at 
work;  his  whole  body  seemed  agitated,  as  if  each  part 
was  instinct  with  a  separate  life ;  and  his  small  white 
hand,  with  its  blue  veins  apparently  distended  almost  to 


166  MVING     OKATOKS    IV    AMERICA. 

bursting,  moved  gracefully,  but  with  all  the  energy  of 
rapid  and  vehement  gesture.  The  appearance  of  the 
speaker  seemed  that  of  a  pure  intellect,  wrought  Up  to 
its  mightiest  energies,  and  brightly  glowing  through  the 
thin  and  transparent  veil  of  flesh  that  enrobed  it.  His 
control  over  his  auditory  was  most  absolute  and  astonish- 
ing— now  bathing  them  in  tears,  and  now  convulsing 
them  with  laughter,  causing  them  to  alternate  between 
hope  and  fear,  love  and  hate,  at  his  bidding.  When, he 
concluded,  scarcely  a  vestige  of  opposition  remained, 
and  the  amended  resolution  was  adopted,  almost  by  ac- 
clamation." 

This  talismanic  power,  so  manifest  in  the  eloquence 
of  Mr.  Clay,  is  not  to  be  accredited  to  any  one  great 
faculty,  but  to  the  skillful  use  of  many.  In  him  no  "  life- 
less heap  of  embryo  knowledge  rests,"  but  instead 
thereof,  there  is  a  great  fund  of  practical  wisdom,  satu- 
rated with  acute  emotion,  by  which  in  the  most  power- 
ful manner,  he  is  ever  ready  "  passion  to  paint,  and 
sentiment  unfold."  He  neither  indulges  in  long  strains 
of  vapid  declamation,  nor  wearies  with  dry  and  insuffera- 
ble details,  but  sagaciously  mingles  the  two,  knowing 
"that  vice  alike  resides  in  each  extreme."  He  thus 
most  admirably  conforms  to  nature,  and  in  the  progress 
of  an  extended  demonstration  banishes  all  tedium,  by 
alternately  painting  "  her  midnight  shadow,  her  meri- 
dian glow." 

When  we  .ook  out  on  the  mighty  landscape,  we  see 
that  rich,  ample,  and  flowing  robe  which  nature  should 
wear  on  her  throned  eminence,  hill  united  to  hill,  with 
sweeping  train  of  forest,  with  prodigality  of  shade,  aa 


HENRY    CLAY-  167 

she  stands  revealed  in  primitive  magnificence,  and  not 
curtailed  of  her  fair  proportions,  pinched  and  squeezed 
into  artificial  shapes  by  the  contracted  and  prim  notions 
of  man.  And  so  the  spirit  of  true  eloquence,  adapting 
itself  to  different  occasions  and  diversified  styles,  sub- 
dues by  simplicity,  commands  by  dignity,  persuades  by 
propriety,  assuages  by  repose,  charms  by  contrast,  en- 
livens by  emotion,  and  renovates  by  truth.  Reason  is 
the  potent  leader,  and  all  subordinates  are  imbued  with 
the  light  and  force  that  emanate  from  this  centre,  en- 
rapturing all  with  a  cheerful  gleam,  and  sometimes 
startling  with  a  fearful  flash.  Nothing  is  beautiful  and 
effective  in  popular  speech  that  is  not  allied  to  light  and 
shadow  in  the  physical  world,  and  is  united  to  color  and 
form. 

"  'Tis  still  one  principle  through  all  extends, 
And  leads  through  different  ways  to  different  ends. 
Whate'er  its  essence,  or  whate'er  its  name, 
Whate'er  its  modes,  'tis  still  in  all  the  same  : 
'Tis  just  congruityof  parts  combined, 
To  please  the  sense  and  satisfy  the  mind." 

Mr.  Clay's  eloquence,  like  the  firm  trunk  of  a  gnarled 
oak,  adorned  and  half  concealed  by  honeysuckles  and 
wild  roses,  reverses  the  image  of  lole  dressed  in  the 
Lion's  skin — it  is  the  club  of  Hercules  adorned  by  her 
with  wreaths  of  flowers.  His  style  is  of  a  new  order, 
conceived  and  executed  in  a  very  bold  and  difficult  man- 
ner, the  aggregated  beauty  and  magnificence  of  Gre- 
cian symmetry,  Gothic  picturesqueness,  and  the  irregu- 
lar firmness  of  a  feudal  castle.  Some  of  his  speeches 


168  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

suggest  the  idea  of  easy  and  rapid  motion,  like  Milton's 
battle  of  the  angels  : 

"Light  as  the  lightning  glimpse  they  ran,  they  flew. 
From  their  foundations  loos'ning  to  and  fro, 
They  pluck'd  the  seated  hills  with  all  their  load, 
flocks,  waters,  woods,  and  by  the  shaggy  tops, 
Uplifting,  bore  them  in  their  hands." 

Others  impress  with  the  grandeur  of  massiveness,  re- 
sistance to  motion,  if  not  absolute  immobility,  as  is  fine- 
ly marked  in  the  same  book  : 

"Under  his  burning  wheels 
The  steadfast  empyrean  shook  throughout, 
All  but  the  throne  itself  of  God." 

Sagacious  patriotism  was  the  third  element  which  we 
mentioned  as  a  prolific  source  of  Mr.  Clay's  eloquence. 
From  his  first  entrance  upon  political  life,  he  seems 
strongly  and  habitually  to  have  felt  the  power  of  reason 
upon  the  masses,  and  always  to  have  treated  the  popular 
judgment  with  profound  respect.  Hence  he  has  been 
frank  and  fearless  in  avowing  his  principles  on  all  occa- 
sions, to  all  men.  All  his  faculties  were  early  trained 
for  popular  discussion:  even  his  enthusiasm  was  ren- 
dered skillful  and  reflective  in  dealing  out  arguments 
and  appeals  indiscriminately  to  those  who  came  in  his 
way.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  man  who  went 
through  a  stumping  campaign  with  unwavering  dignity. 

Mr.  Clay  has  ever  been  true  to  his  own  conceptions  ; 
and  such  a  speaker,  if  he  is  not  always -right,  is  certair 
to  be  always  strong.  Of  all  Americans,  he  is  the  orator 


HENRY    CLAY.  169 

of  political  actualities;  never  dreamy  or  metaphysical; 
seldom  embodying  the  largest  or  the  highest  philosophical 
Jogmas,  but  applying  the  simplest  principles  to  the  most 
eomprehensive  concerns  of  his  countrymen  in  their 
slashing  interests,  and  continual  conflicts,  and  in  these 
patriotic  efforts  working  out,  with  a  power  rarely  sur- 
passed, the  objects  which  he  aimed  to  accomplish.  Con- 
template him,  for  instance,  when  he  braved  the  arro- 
gance of  England,  in  the  beginning,  progress  and  end " 
of  the  war  of  1812.  His  chivalrous  bearing,  patriotic 
indignation,  and  diplomatic  skill,  remind  one  of  Michael, 
chief  of  the  heavenly  warriors,  sent  to  banish  the  guilty 
pair  from  Paradise. 

"  Not  in  his  shape  celestial,  but  as  man 
Clad  to  meet  man  :  over  his  lucid  arms 
While  military  vest  of  purple  flow'd  ; 
His  starry  helm  unbuckled  show'd  him  prime 
In  manhood,  where  youth  ended ;  by  his  side, 
As  in  a  glist'ning  zodiac,  hung  the  sword, 
Satan's  dire  dread,  and  in  his  hand  the  spear." 

Moreover,  Mr.  Clay  never  underrates  the  connection 
between  words  and  deeds,  nor  forgets  the  power  which 
speech  ever  exercises  on  the  common  rnind,  and  that 
most  extensively  in  times  of  great  excitement  and  na- 
tional convulsion.  As  he  had  introduced  into  congres- 
sional affairs  an  element  of  high  moral  enthusiasm, 
springing  from  his  own  ardent  and  magnanimous  spirit,  so 
was  he  in  turn  acted  upon  by  the  kindled  passions  of  the 
people  at  large  as  well  as  by  his  dignified  associates,  and 
in  a  few  years  attained  the  dizzy  height  whereon  he  was 
recognized  by  all  the  world  as  the  sagacious  patriot  who, 


170  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

in  a  pre-eminent  degree,  impersonated  the  cause  of 
America.  Reliance  on  exalted  principles,  and  resomte 
action  guided  by  them,  had  conferred  on  him  a  glory 
and  a  name,  "  known,  sun  like,  in  all  nations."  This 
well-earned  reputation  he  not  only  preserved  but  en- 
hanced when,  to  allay  the  consternation  kindled  by  South 
Carolina,  with  a  bold  and  masterly  hand  he  sketched  the 
outlines  of  an  honorable  compromise,  and  colored  the 
design  with  the  most  soothing  hues  of  loftiest  patriotism. 

But  the  hour  when  Mr.  Clay  seems  most  to  have  felt 
that  the  eyes  of  the  world  were  upon  him,  when  he  most 
unfolded  the  native  majesty  of  his  character,  and  stood 
serenely  on  the  sublimest  height,  was  the  memorable 
scene  when  he  took  leave  of  the  Senate,  March  31, 
1842.  Art  and  eloquence  have  made  that  event  historical 
and  attractive  for  ever.  The  closing  paragraphs  of  Mr. 
Clay's  address  were  as  follows : 

"  That  my  nature  is  warm,  my  temper  ardent,  my  dis- 
position, especially  in  relation  to  the  public  service,  en- 
thusiastic, I  am  ready  to  own ;  and  those  who  suppose 
that  I  have  been  assuming  the  dictatorship,  have  only 
mistaken  for  arrogance  or  assumption  that  ardor  and 
devotion  which  are  natural  to  my  constitution,  and  which 
I  may  have  displayed  with  too  little  regard  to  cold,  cal- 
culating, and  cautious  prudence,  in  sustaining  and  zeal- 
ously supporting  important  national  measures  of  policy 
which  I  have  presented  and  espoused. 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  and  arduous  public  service, 
especially  during  the  last  eleven  years  in  which  I  have 
neld  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  from  the  same  aidor  and  en- 
thusiasm of  character,  I  have  no  doubt,  in  the  heat  of 


HENRY    CLAY.  171 

debate,  and  in  an  honest  endeavor  to  maintain  mv 
opinions  against  adverse  opinions  alike  honestly  entei 
tained,  as  to  the  best  course  to  be  adopted  for  the  pub 
lie  welfare,  I  may  have  often  inadvertently  and  unintei? 
tionally,  in  moments  of  excited  debate,  made  use  of  Ian 
guage  that  has  been  offensive,  and  susceptible  of  injuri 
ous  interpretation  toward  my  brother  Senators.  L 
there  be  any  here  who  retain  wounded  feelings  of  injury 
or  dissatisfaction  produced  on  such  occasions,  I  beg  to 
assure  them  that  I  now  offer  the  most  ample  apology  for 
any  departure  on  my  part  from  the  established  rules  ot 
parliamentary  decorum  and  courtesy.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  assure  the  Senators,  one  and  all,  without  excep- 
tion and  without  reserve,  that  I  retire  from  this  chamber 
without  carrying  with  me  a  single  feeling  of  resentment 
or  dissatisfaction  to  the  Senate  or  any  one  of  its  mem- 
bers. 

"  I  go  from  this  place  under  the  hope  that  we  shall 
mutually  consign  to  perpetual  oblivion  whatever  personal 
collisions  may  at  any  time  unfortunately  have  occurred 
between  us ;  and  that  our  recollections  shall  dwell  in 
future  only  on  those  conflicts  of  mind  with  mind,  those 
intellectual  struggles,  those  noble  exhibitions  of  the 
powers  of  logic,  argument,  and  eloquence,  honorable  to 
the  Senate  and  to  the  nation,  in  which  each  has  sought 
and  contended  for  what  he  deemed  the  best  mode  of  ac- 
complishing one  common  object,  the  interests  and  happi- 
ness of  our  beloved  country.  To  these  thrilling  and 
delightful  scenes  it  will  be  my  pleasure  and  my  pride  to 
ook  back  in  my  retirement  with  unmeasured  satisfaction 

"  May   the  most  precious  blessings  of  Heaven  rest 


172  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

upon  the  whole  Senate,  and  each  member  of  it,  and  may 
the  labors  of  every  one  redound  to  the  benefit  of  the 
nation  and  the  advancement  of  his  own  fame  and  re- 
nown. And  when  you  shall  retire  to  the  bosom  of  your 
constituents,  may  you  receive  that  most  cheering  and 
gratifying  of  all  human  rewards — their  cordial  greeting 
of,  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant.' 

"  And  now,  Mr.  President,  and  Senators,  1  bid  you  all 
a  long,  a  lasting,  and  a  friendly  farewell." 

In  delineating  the  sources  of  Mr.  Clay's  eloquence, 
we  have  spoken  of  his  enterprising  spirit,  his  ardent 
temperament,  and  sagacious  patriotism.  In  conclusion, 
let  us  glance  at  the  fourth,  and "  a  fundamental  quality, 
his  indomitable  perseverance. 

Confidence  or  courage  is  conscious  ability — the  sense 
of  power — which  it  is  often  difficult  to  attain,  but  which 
is  a  quality  indispensable  to  eminent  success.  A  well 
known  anecdote  commemorates  the  timidity  natural  to 
genius  in  its  first  efforts,  and  under  which  Mr.  Clay  was 
embarrassed  in  the  commencement  of  his  public  career. 
In  a  debating  society  of  which  he  for  sometime  had  been 
an  observant  but  silent  member,  a  question  had  been  dis- 
cussed at  considerable  length  and  apparently  with  much 
ability,  on  which  the  customary  vote  was  about  to  be 
taken,  when  he  observed  in  an  under  tone  to  a  person 
seated  by  him,  "  the  subject  does  not  seem  to  be  ex- 
hausted." The  individual  addressed,  exclaimed,  "do 
not  put  the  question  yet,  Mr.  Clay  will  speak."  The 
chairman  by  a  smile  and  nod  of  the  head  signified  his 
willingness  to  allow  the  discussion  to  be  continued  by 
him,  who  thereupon  arose  under  every  appearance  of 


HENRY    CLAY.  173 

trepidation  and  embarrassment.  The  first  words  that 
fell  from  his  lips  were,  "  Gentlemen  of  the  jury."  His 
embarrassment  now  was  extreme;  blushing,  hesitat- 
ing, and  stammering,  he  repeated  the  words,  "Gen- 
tlemen of  the  jury."  The  audience  evinced  gen- 
uine politeness  and  good  breeding,  by  seeming  not 
to  notice  his  peculiarly  unpleasant  and  trying  con- 
dition. Suddenly  regaining  his  self-possession,  he 
made  a  speech  of  such  force  and  eloquence,  as  to 
carry  conviction  and  astonishment  at  once  to  the 
hearts  of  his  hearers.  Subsequently  he  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  debates  of  the  society,  and  became  one 
of  its  most  efficient  members. 

An  adept  is  not  afraid  of  undertaking  what  he  knows 
he  can  do  better  than  any  one  else,  but  it  requires  no 
little  practice  to  acquire  this  habitual  self-possession. 
Even  the  most  experienced  veterans  are  often  discon- 
certed, when  out  of  their  own  sphere,  they  are  sum- 
moned to  the  most  familiar  and  easy  tasks.  Garrick 
was  once  subpoenaed  on  a  friend's  trial ;  when  he  appear- 
ed before  the  court,  though  he  had  for  thirty  years  been 
in  the  habit  of  speaking  with  the  greatest  self-reliance  in 
the  presence  of  thousands,  yet  the  instant  he  appeared 
in  an  unusual  situation,  he  became  so  perplexed  and 
confused,  that  he  was  actually  sent  from  the  witness' 
box  by  the  judge,  as  a  man  from  whom  no  evidence 
could  be  gotten.  Charles  Fox  felt  no  diffidence  in  ad- 
dressing the  House  of  Commons,  but  was  reserved  and 
silent  in  company,  having  no  confidence  in  his  own  col- 
loquial "powers,  or  talent  for  writing.  As  a  man  is 
strong,  so  is  he  bold ;  but  his  confident  strength  is  at 


174  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ease  only  in  a  walk  which  impulse  or  necessity  has  ren- 
dered most  familiar.  In  the  case  of  young  Clay,  as 
with  Fox,  the  torrent  of  eloquence  rushed  upon  him 
from  his  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  his  interest  in  it, 
as  soon  as  he  was  once  fairly  on  his  feet  in  spontaneous 
speech,  and  he  went  on  to  the  amazement  of  his  audi- 
ence, unchecked  and  unbidden,  without  once  thinking 
of  himself,  or  his  initiatory  blunder.  Subsequent  prac- 
tice, severe  and  unremitting,  fortified  Mr.  Clay  with 
self-possession,  which  no  finite  power  could  disturb.  He 
became  foremost  among 

•     "  The  men  that  glorious  law  who  taught, 

Unshrinking  liberty  of  thought, 
And  roused  the  nations  with  the  truth  sublime.'" 

The  persevering  efforts  made  by  Mr.  Clay  to  preserve 
and  transmit  to  future  generations  the  invaluable  insti- 
tutions we  enjoy,  were  finely  indicated  by  him  on  the 
15th  of  August,  1824,  when,  as  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  he  received  General  Lafayette,  with 
an  apposite  and  beautiful  address,  of  which  the  following 
is  an  extract : 

"  The  vain  wish  has  been  sometimes  indulged,  that 
Providence  would  allow  the  patriot,  after  death,  to  return 
to-  his  country,  and  to  contemplate  the  intermediate 
change  that  had  taken  place,  to  view  the  forests  felled, 
the  cities  built,  the  mountains  levelled,  the  canals  cut, 
the  highways  constructed,  the  progress  of  the  arts,  the 
advancement  of  learning,  and  the  increase  of  population. 
General,  your  present  visit  to  the  United  States,  is  a 
realization  of  the  consoling  object  of  that  wish.  You  are 


HENRY    CLAY.  175 

in  the  midst  of  posterity.  Every  where  you  must  have 
been  struck  with  the  great  changes,  physical  and  moral, 
which  have  occurred  since  you  left  us.  Even  this  city, 
bearing  a  venerated  name,  alike  endeared  to  you  and  to 
us,  has  since  emerged  from  the  forest  which  then  cov- 
ered its  site.  In  one  respect  you  find  us  unaltered,  and 
that  is,  in  the  sentiment  of  continued  devotion  to  liberty, 
and  of  ardent  affection  and  profound  gratitude  to  your 
departed  friend,  the  father  of  his  country,  and  to  you, 
and  to  your  illustrious  associates  in  the  field  and  the 
cabinet,  for  the  multiplied  blessings  which  surround  us, 
and  for  the  very  privilege  of  addressing  you,  which  I  now 
exercise.  This  sentiment,  now  fondly  cherished  by  more 
than  ten  millions  of  people,  will  be  transmitted  with  una- 
bated vigor,  down  the  tide  of  time,  through  the  countless 
millions  who  are  destined  to  inhabit  this  continent,  to  the 
latest  posterity." 

That  Mr.  Clay  designs  to  persevere  to  the  last  mo- 
ment of  existence  on  earth  in  his  patriotic  course,  is  evi- 
dent from  his  character,  and  the  declaration  he  made  at 
a  complimentary  dinner,  given  him  when  about  to  re- 
turn home  finally  from  Washington.  In  a  speech  on 
that  occasion,  he  alluded  to  his  public  career,  and  the 
duties  of  citizenship,  in  the  following  beautiful  language  : 
"  Whether  I  shall  ever  hereafter  take  any  part  in  the 
public  councils  or  not,  depends  upon  circumstances  be- 
yond my  control.  Holding  the  principle  that  a  citizen, 
as  long  as  a  single  pulsation  remains,  is  under  an  obliga- 
tion to  exert  his  utmost  energies  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  if  necessary,  whether  in  a  public  or  private  sta- 
tion, my  friends  here  and  everywhere  may  res'  assured, 


170  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

that,  in  either  condition,  I  shall  stand  erect,  with  a  spirit 
unconquered,  while  life  endures,  ready  to  second  their 
exertions  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  the  union  and  the  na- 
tional prosperity." 

In  summing  up  what  we  have  to  say  on  the  charac- 
ter and  eloquence  of  Mr.  Clay,  we  remark  that  he  pos- 
sesses the  richest  facility  of  fluent  and  sonorous  speech, 
an  imposing  elocution,  a  deep  and  melodious  voice,  a 
fine,  commanding  figure,  perfect  familiarity  with  parlia- 
mentary forms,  and  an  adroit  potency  in  debate  which 
can  rarely  or  never  be  either  disconcerted  or  overcome. 
His  sensibility  is  acute,  and  this  is  supported  by  equal 
comprehension,  elevation  of  mind  and  dignity  of  action  ; 
his  sentiments  are  draped  with  propriety  and  enforced 
with  reason.  His  style  is  levelled  to  his  subject,  and  he 
preserves  it  both  equally  remote  from  grovelling  inanity 
and  transcendental  bombast. 

Possessed  naturally  of  an  impetuous  temperament  and 
glowing  imagination,  he  early  disciplined  himself  into 
oratorical  habits  admirably  suited  to  a  mind  of  keen 
social  perception,  and  not  less  adapted  to  the  rapturous 
expression  of  exquisite  emotion.  In  his  eloquence,  wit 
emerges  from  and  blends  with  wisdom,  as  is  symbolized 
by  the  natural  parks  of  oak  which  abound  on  his  estate  ; 
the  old  foliage  forms  a  dark  background,  on  which  the 
new  appears,  relieved  and  detached  in  all  its  freshness 
and  brilliancy — it  is  spring  engrafted  on  summer.  His 
nature  is  genial,  full  of  the  acutest  sensibility  to  emotion, 
and  this  through  all  his  life  has  been  combined  with  a 
profusion  of  creative  political  genius  in  a  great  variety 
of  public  manifestations.  This  is  a  power  not  imbibed 


IIENRY    CI<AY.  177 

from  without,  but  evolved  directly  from  his  own  soul. 
Not  that  he  has  grown  up  isolated  from  the  world  and 
its  tumultuous  scenes  ;  no  man  has  been  more  influenced 
by  the  active  age,  whose  practical  development  and  uti- 
lity he  has  contributed  so  much  to  promote.  It  is  clear 
that  from  early  youth  to  maturest  manhood,  at  each 
«tep, 

"  He  drew  his  light  from  what  he  was  amidst, 
As  doth  a  lamp  which  hath  itself 
Matter  of  light,  although  it  show  it  not.     His 
Was  but  the  power  to  light  what  might  be  lit." 

Mr.  Clay's  method  of  artistic  execution  resembles  that 
of  Reubens,  who  did  not  keep  pictures  by  him  for  years 
to  dwell  on,  muse  on,  and  dream  of,  but  sketched,  co- 
lored and  perfected  them  at  once.  This,  however,  is  the 
result  of  patient  practice,  and  not  a  substitute  for  it. 
From  early  youth,  Mr.  Clay's  application  has  been  in- 
tense and  perpetual ;  each  pursuit  with  him,  every  new 
effort  and  success,  being  only  another  step  toward  a  yet 
higher  achievement.  However  affluent  in  original  en- 
dowments, he  knew  full  well  that  the  best  powers  of  his 
mind  could  be  developed  only  by  incessant  practice. 
Thus  did  he  come  at  length  to  bear  down  all  opposition 
by  his  breadth,  brightness,  and  depth  of  eloquence,  qua- 
lities which,  in  him,  defy  all  successful  rivalship  in  polit- 
ical discussion. 

In  the  rigid  forms  of  argument  which  set  foward  the 

most  .convincing  proofs  of  the  justice  of  a  cause,  Mr. 

Clay  may  be  excelled  by  more  than  one  of  his  coternpo- 

raries  ;  but,  in  his  happier  efforts,  he  surpasses  them  all 

8* 


178  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

in  splendor  and  pungency  of  appeal,  based  on  disci- 
plined vehemence  of  spirit.  He  not  only  convinces,  but 
dazzles  and  inflames.  If  the  mere  effervescence  of 
"  ission  sometimes  appears  in  blinding  copiousness,  it  as 
suddenly  sinks  like  foam  into  the  mighty  billows  which 
bore  it,  and  clear  reason,  like  a  fresh-blown  trumpet, 
moves  severely  on.  It  is  a  rare  compound  of  the  lighter 
and  sterner  attributes  of  speech,  which,  because  it  is  the 
excellence  of  natural  power,  equally  affects  all.  The 
oak,  as  lily,  feels  the  lighter  breeze  ;  and  minds  above, 
as  well  below,  medium  range,  are  swayed  alike  by  the 
truthful  utterances  of  an  excited  soul.  When  fully 
aroused  in  collision  with  worthy  antagonists,  every  fibre 
of  this  orator  vibrates  under  the  action  of  his  mighty 
mind,  "as  heaven  quakes  under  its  own  thunders."  Not 
that  he  loses  the  power  of  self-control,  or  becomes  in  any 
way  distorted ;  he  is  never  more  symmetrical  and  capti- 
vating than  when  winging  the  swiftest  darts  and  tri- 
umphing over  the  fiercest  foes.  In  the  noblest  statue  of 
Apollo  which  has  been  preserved,  dignity  is  intimately 
connected  with  beauty  ;  the  union  has  produced  the 
highest  exemplification  of  masculine  charms,  of  which 
we  have  any  model,  and  is  an  admirable  type  of  Henry 
Clay.  His  mind  blends  and  reproduces  the  elements  of 
truth  and  power  in  natural  eloquence,  as  a  mirror  im- 
parts a  peculiar  freshness  and  tenderness  to  the  diversi- 
fied hues  it  reflects. 

It  is  vain  to  look  for  much  literary  excellence  in 
the  tumultous  scenes  wherein  Mr.  Clay  has  all  his  life- 
time been  compelled  to  move.  Instead  of  reclining  idly 
in  the  peaceful  valleys  which  poets  love  to  celebrate,  he 


HENRY    CLAY.  179 

lias  grown  old  in  battling  bravely  in  the  dusty  arena 
where  politics  ascend  the  tripod,  transformed  into  a 
Sibyl  unromantic  to  the  last  degree.  Mr.  Randolph,  in 
a  strain  of  most  scorching  irony,  in  debate  indulged  in 
some  personal  taunts  towards  Mr.  Clay,  commiserating 
his  ignorance  and  limited  education,  to  whom  Mr.  Clay 
replied  by  saying,  '-Sir,  the  gentleman  from  Virginia 
was  pleased  to  say,  that  in  one  point,  at  least,  he  coin- 
cided with  me — in  an  humble  estimate  of  my  gramma- 
tical and  philological  acquirements.  I  know  my  defi- 
ciences.  I  was  born  to  no  proud  patrimonial  estate 
from  my  father.  I  inherited  only  infancy,  ignorance, 
and  indigence ;  I  feel  my  defects ;  but  so  far  as  my 
situation  in  early  life  is  concerned,  I  may  without  pre- 
sumption say,  they  are  more  my  misfortune  than  my 
fault-  But,  however  I  deplore  my  inability  to  furnish 
to  the  gentleman  a  better  specimen  of  powers  of  verbal 
criticism,  I  will  venture  to  say  my  regret  is  not  greater 
than  the  disappointment  of  this  committee,  as  to  the 
strength  of  his  argument."  This  retort  is  highly  honor- 
able to  its  author,  inasmuch  as  it  is  at  once  courteous, 
caustic,  and  true.  He  is  the  architect  of  his  own  for- 
tunes, and  however  numerous  may  be  his  defects,  his 
undoubted  excellences  would  do  honor  to  the  most 
favored  man. 

Mr.  Clay's  eloquence  is  pre-eminently  that  of  exalted 
statesmanship,  exercising  which  in  diffusing  light  and 
liberty  throughout  the  world,  he  rejoices,  as  does  the 
brave  in  his  "  keen,  flashing  sword,  and  his  strong  arm's 
swift  swoop."  Strongly  imbued  with  the  sentiment  of 
country,  among  all  our  public  men  many  think  him  the 


180  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

most  American.  This  is  undoubtedly  his  highest  merit. 
Abounding  little  in  learned  quotation,  classical  erudi- 
tion, or  literary  decoration,  he  is  studded  all  over  with 
the  richest  vestiges  of  patriotic  genius,  "  racy  of  the 
soil."  He  is  eminently  the  orator  of  humanity ;  less 
logical  and  less  elevated  than  one  or  two  of  his  com- 
peers, but  more  insinuating,  more  potent  on  our  hearts 
as  we  listen,  the  warm  and  invincible  master  of  the 
sympathies.  He  has  measured  weapons  with  the  migh- 
tiest, and  proved  himself  equal  to  any  arm.  Once,  in 
particular,  in  defending  a  favorite  bill,  he  had  to  en- 
counter much  and  strong  opposition,  at  the  head  of 
which  stood  Daniel  Webster.  The  collision  of  these 
eloquent  and  intellectual  giants,  is  said  to  have  been 
inconceivably  grand.  Says  a  gentleman  who  witnessed 
it,  "  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Webster  was  the  majestic 
roar  of  a  strong  and  steady  blast,  pealing  through  the 
forest;  but  that  of  Mr.  Clay  was  the  tone  of  a  god-like 
instrument,  sometimes  visited  by  an  angel  touch,  and 
swept  anon  by  all  the  fury  of  the  raging  elements."  Mr. 
Clay,  aware  that  he  was  contending  for  the  very  vital- 
ity of  his  country,  had  nerved  himself  up  to  one  of  his 
mightiest  efforts,  one  which  would  demolish  every  op- 
posing obstacle,  and  plant  his  foot  in  complete  triumph 
on  the  ruins  of  the  strongest  holds  of  his  assailants.  He 
turned  aside  every  weapon  directed  against  his  system, 
and  entirely  disarmed  all  opposition. 

We  know  that  this  great  statesman  of  the  West  is  bold 
and  indomitable;  perhaps  he  has  too  ardently  aspired 
after  both  power  and  popularity,  but  in  the  main  it  must 
be  confessed  that  he  has  tnade  his  personal  ambition  sub- 


HENRY    CLAY.  181 

servient  to  purposes  the  most  magnanimous  and  grand. 
In  debating  talent  he  has  been  but  very  rarely  equalled. 
In  moral  enthusiasm,  practically  employed  in  political 
and  forensic  warfare,  he  has  never  been  excelled.  A 
fiery  splendor  flows  naturally  from  his  ardent  heart,  and 
as  it  spreads  over  listening  multitudes,  the  effect  upon 
all  who  catch  his  tones,  or  comprehend  his  words  is 
prodigious.  The  whole  nation  listens,  and  the  millions 
everywhere  who  speak  our  vernacular,  with  thrilled 
bosoms  attest  the  potency  of  his  genial  style.  Others 
can  reason  dryly,  or  declaim  vapidly,  but  it  has  been  his 
peculiar  prerogative  more  than  once  to  raise  the  spirit 
of  America  far  beyond  the  height  to  which  any  other 
hero  has  carried  it,  imbuing  all  classes  with  the  firmest 
and  most  impassioned  patriotism. 

"  Thou  raised'st  thy  voice,  and  the  people,  awaking, 

Beheld  the  foul  source  of  corruption  display'd  ; 
And,  loyal  stupidity  quickly  forsaking, 

They  found  themselves  plunder'd,  oppress'd,  and  betray'd , 
Then,  loud  as  the  storm  in  its  fury  out-rushing, 

"The  shouts  of  the  thousands  for  freedom  arose ; 
And  liberty  only  shall  soothe  them  to  hushing, 

And  liberty  only  shall  lull  to  repose." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

JOHN    C.    CALHOUN, 

THE    METAPHYSICIAN. 

CONSIDERED  in  respect  to  his  natural  ability,  acquired 
talents,  past  career,  and  present  position,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  historical  characters  of  our  land,  is 
John  Caldwell  Calhoun.  He  was  born  in  Abbeville 
District,  South  Carolina,  March  18th,  1782.  His  grand- 
father emigrated  with  his  family  from  Ireland,  and  set- 
tled, in  1733,  in  Pennsylvania.  His  father  was  then  six 
years  old.  At  a  subsequent  period,  the  family  removed 
to  Western  Virginia ;  but  upon  Braddock's  defeat,  the 
settlement  was  broken  up,  and,  in  1756,  they  went  to 
South  Carolina. 

John  C.  was  the  third  son  in  a  family  of  five  children. 
(<  Both  parents  were  exemplary  for  piety  and  virtue. 
The  father  was  a  hardy  and  enterprising  pioneer ;  but 
unlike  most  of  that  class,  he  placed  a  high  value  upon 
education.  Though  he  was  entirely  self-taught,  and 
lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life  on  the  frontier,  surrounded 
by  danger,  he  made  himself  an  excellent  English  scholar, 
and  an  accurate  and  skillful  surveyor,  which  profession 
he  long  followed.  He  was  the  first  member  ever  elected 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  183 

to  the  Provincial  Legislature,  from  the  interior  of  South 
Carolina.  Of  this  body,  and  the  State  Legislature,  after 
the  Revolution,  he  continued  a  member  for  thirty  years, 
without  intermission,  except  for  a  single  term,  until  his 
death,  in  1796.  He  was  a  zealous  whig,  and  a  disin- 
terested patriot."  The  son  seems  to  have  become  the 
vindicator  of  "  State  Rights,"  very  legitimately,  for  it  is 
recorded  that  his  conscientious  father  opposed  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  on  the  ground  that 
it  conferred  rights  on  Congress  incompatible  with  the 
sovereignty  of  the  States.  Who  can  estimate  the  force 
of  hereditary  character,  and  early  prepossessions  ? 

At  thirteen  years  of  age,  young  Calhoun  was  placed 
at  the  Academy  of  his  brother-in-law,  Rev.  Dr.  Waddel, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  teachers  in  the  South. 
Here  he  prosecuted  his  studies  for  some  time,  and  made 
ample  use  of  a  circulating  library,  especially  in  the  de- 
partment of  history.  In  the  course  of  fourteen  weeks, 
he  is  said  to  have  read  Rollin's  Ancient  History,  Robert- 
son's Charles  V.  and  America,  Voltaire's  Charles  XII., 
the  large  edition  of  Cooke's  Voyages,  the  first  volume  of 
Locke  on  the  Human  Understanding,  and  several  other 
works.  Neglecting  his  meals  and  rest,  with  such  avidity 
did  he  engage  in  literary  pursuits,  his  countenance  grew 
pallid,  his  eyes  were  injured,  and  his  whole  frame  be- 
came emaciated.  His  widowed  mother,  fearing  the 
consequences  of  such  application,  took  him  home,  and 
the  ardent  student,  forgetting  his  books,  soon  became  as 
passionately  fond  of  agricultural  labors  and  rural  sports. 
Though  the  progress  of  his  mental  education  was  thus 
for  some  years  arrested,  his  rugged  pursuits  laid  the 


.84  LIVING    ORATORS    JN    AMERICA. 

foundation  of  a  hardy  constitution,  and  gave  him  a  fund 
of  practical  knowledge  of  the  greatest  value. 

In  1800,  at  the  earnest  importunity  of  his  older 
brother,  John  turned  his  attention  once  more  to  a  classi- 
cal education,  and  placed  himself  again  under  the  tuition 
of  Dr.  Waddel,  who  had  re-opened  his  Academy  in  Co- 
lumbia County,  Georgia.  He  was  then  eighteen  years 
old ;  and  his  progress  was  so  rapid,  that  in  two  years 
time,  he  was  enabled  to  join  the  junior  class  at  Yale  Col- 
lege, in  the  Autumn  of  1802. 

It  is  said  that  in  that  institution  he  took  a  high  grade 
in  all  the  studies  ;  being  greatly  distinguished  for  depth 
and  sagacity  of  intellect.  In  political  opinions,  he  dif- 
fered widely  from  the  president,  Dr.  Dwight,  with  whom 
he  had  frequent  discussions,  but  always  of  a  friendly 
character.  Once  in  the  course  of  a  recitation  in  Paley's 
Philosophy,  the  Doctor  expressed  a  doubt,  "  whether  the 
consent  of  the  governed,  was  the  only  just  origin  of  le- 
gitimate government?"  This  caused  an  animated  de- 
bate between  him  and  his  pupil,  which  held  the  class  in 
delighted  suspense  till  dinner,  jn  the  course  of  which, 
the  student  evinced  such  depth  of  thought,  and  such 
power  of  argument  and  eloquence,  that  his  dignified  and 
wise  antagonist  unequivocally  predicted  his  future  fame. 
Said  he  to  a  friend,  "  That  young  man  has  talents 
enough  to  be  President  of  the  United  States." 

Such  an  encomium  was  justified  not  only  by  moral 
habits  remarkably  correct,  for  one  of  his  age  and  tem- 
perament, but  by  those  native  and  acquired  powers 
of  mind,  which  enabled  him,  in  just  four  years  after 
commencing  the  Latin  Grammar,  to  graduate  with  the 


JOHN    C.    CALHDUN.  185 

highest  honors,  at  the  head  of  a  large  and  talented  class. 
The  oration  prepared  for  that  occasion  was  on  "  The 
qualifications  necessary  to  a  perfect  statesman." 

On  his  return  home,  he  enrolled  himself  a  student  of 
law,  with  H.  W.  Desaussure,  but  soon  after  went  again 
to  New  England,  and  entered  the  Litchfield  law  school, 
where  for  eighteen  months  under  the  Judges  Reeve 
and  Gould,  he  made  great  advancement.  "The  morn- 
ing was  devoted  to  law,  the  rest  of  the  day  to  gene- 
ral literature  and  political  science,  and  he  cultivated, 
with  especial  care,  extemporaneous  speaking.  It  was 
in  the  debating  society  of  this  place,  where  the  most 
agitating  political  topics  of  the  day  were  discussed  be- 
fore crowded  meetings,  that  Mr.  Calhoun  who  was  ever 
the  champion  of  the  republican  side,  first  developed  his 
great  powers  of  parliamentary  debate.  It  was  his 
custom,  even  then,  to  prepare  by  reflection,  and  not  by 
arranging  on  paper,  what  he  meant  to  say,  nor  by  taking 
notes  of  the  arguments  of  others.  A  good  memory  pre- 
served the  order  of  his  own  thoughts,  and  a  wonderful 
power  of  analysis  and  classification  enabled  him  to  digest 
rapidly,  and  distribute  in  their  proper  places,  the  answer 
and  refutation  of  all  the  arguments  of  the  speakers, 
however  numerous,  whom  he  followed.  In  1806,  he 
returned  to  South  Carolina,  and  in  1807  commenced,  in 
his  native  district,  a  lucrative  practice,  ranking,  from 
the  very  outset,  with  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in  his 
circuit," 

The  above  details  throw  sufficient  light,  perhaps  on 
the  preliminary  training  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  Let  us,  in  the 
next  place,  contemphte  him  as  he  enters  more  prominent- 


186  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ly  on  political  life.  The  affair  of  the  Chesapeake  was 
the  occasion  of  his  first  being  brought  into  distinguished 
notice.  A  public  meeting  was  called  at  Abbeville  Court 
House,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  was  one  of  the  committee 
appointed  to  draft  an  address  and  resolutions.  By  re- 
quest also  he  was  expected  to  make  a  speech.  When 
the  day  and  hour  arrived,  a  great  assembly  of  the  people 
were  in  attendance.  It  was  his  first  appearance  before 
the  public  in  the  form  of  popular  address,  but,  trying  aa 
the  situation  was,  he  acquitted  himself  in  a  manner  that 
excited  enthusiastic  approbation.  Soon  after,  he  was 
proposed  as  a  candidate  for  the  next  legislature,  and  de- 
spite popular  prejudice  against  the  election  of  a  lawyer, 
he  was  chosen  by  a  large  majority.  He  remained  in 
this  office  two  sessions,  and  distinguished  , himself  for 
that  mental  force  and  political  sagacity,  for  which  he 
has  since  proved  himself  so  remarkable. 

Having  been  elected  by  a  vast  majority  to  represent 
the  district  composed  of  Abbeville,  Newbury,  and  Lau- 
rens,  he  took  his  seat  in  Congress  in  the  autumn  of  1811, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  first  session  of  the  twelfth 
Congress.  His  reputation  had  preceded  him,  and  imme- 
diately after  he  first  entered  the  Capitol,  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  appointed  on  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations, 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Peter  B.  Porter  and  Mr.  Grundy. 
of  the  administration  side,  and  Mr.  Randolph  and  Mr. 
Key,  of  the  opposition.  That  Committee  made  an  able 
report,  on  which  the  discussions  of  the  session  chiefly 
turned,  and  which  recommended  an  immediate  appeal  to 
arms  against  the  aggressions  of  England.  John  Ran- 
dolph made  an  able  and  eloquent  speech  against  the 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  187 

measures  proposed.  Mr.  Calhoun's  first  effort  in  Con- 
gress was  a  reply  to  the  powerful  antagonist  of  Roanoke, 
and  in  defence  of  immediate  redress  for  the  injuries  our 
commerce  had  received.  Public  excitement,  says  a 
historian,  was  strong,  the  house  crowded,  and  the  orator, 
rising  with  the  greatness  of  the  occasion,  delivered  a 
sj>eech,  which  for  lofty  patriotism,  cogent  reasoning,  and 
soul-stirring  eloquence,  has  seldom  been  equalled.  It 
met  unbounded  and  universal  applause.  He  was  com- 
pared to  "  one  of  the  old  sages  of  the  old  Congress,  with 
the  graces  of  youth,"  and  the  "  young  Carolinian"  was 
hailed  as  "one  of  the  master  spirits,  who  stamp  their 
name  upon  the  age  in  which  they  live." 

The  speech  referred  to  above  has  been  preserved,  ana 
it  is  worthy  of  observation  how  strongly  the  logical 
peculiarities  of  the  orator  appear  therein,  at  a  time,  too, 
when  there  was  every  temptation  to  rhetorical  excess. 
For  example,  take  the  passage  wherein  he  replies  to  Mr- 
Randolph's  statement  of  the  financial  impracticability 
of  the  war : 

"  Before  I  proceed  to  answer  the  gentleman  particu- 
larly, let  me  call  the  attention  of  the  house  to  one  cir- 
cumstance ;  that  is,  that  almost  the  whole  of  his  argu- 
ments consisted  of  an  enumeration  of  evils  always 
incident  to  war,  however  just  and  necessary  ;  and  that, 
if  they  have  any  force,  it  is  calculated  to  produce  un- 
qualified submission  to  every  species  of  insult  and 
injury.  <I  do  not  feel  myself  bound  to  answer  arguments 
of  the  above  description  ;  and  if  I  should  touch  on  them, 
it  will  be  only  incidentally,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of 
serious  refutation.  The  first  argument  of  the  gentleman 


188  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

which  I  shall  notice,  is  the  unprepared  state  of  th* 
country.     Whatever  weight  this  argument  might  have, 
in  a  question  of  immediate  war,  it  surely  has  little  in 
that  of  preparation  for  it.     If  our  country  is  unprepared, 
let  us  remedy  the  evil  as  soon  as  possible.     Let  the  gen- 
tleman submit  his  plan ;  and  if  a  reasonable  one,  I  doubt 
not  it  will  be  supported  by  the  house.     But,  sir,  let  us 
admit  the  fact  and  the  whole  force  of  the  argument ;  1 
ask  whose  is  the  fault  ?     Who  has  been  a  member  for 
many  years  past,  and  has  seen  the  defenceless  state  of 
his  country  even  near  home,  under  his  own  eyes,  with- 
out a  single  endeavor  to  remedy  so  serious    an  evil  r 
Let  him  not  say,  "  I  have  acted  in  a  minority."     It  is  no 
less  the  duty  of  the  minority  than  a  majority  to  endeavor 
to  serve  our  country.     For  that  purpose  we  are  sent 
here,  and  not  for  that  of  opposition.     We  are  next  told 
of  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  that  the  people  will  not 
pay   taxes.     Why  not  ?      Is   it  a   want  of  capacity  ? 
What,  with  one  million  tons  of  shipping  ;  a   trade  of 
near  one  hundred  million  dollars  ;  manufactures  of  one 
hundred   and  fifty  million  dollars,    and  agriculture   of 
thrice   that    amount,    shall    we    be   told    the    country 
wants  capacity  to  raise  and  support  ten  thousand  or  fif- 
teen  thousand   additional   regulars?      No;  it  has  the 
ability,  that  is  admitted  ;  but  will  it  not  have  the  disposi- 
tion ?     Is  not   the  course  a  just   and  necessary  one  ? 
Shall  we  then  utter  this  libel  on  the  nation  ?     Where 
will  proof  be  found  of  a  fact  so  disgraceful  ?     It  is  said, 
in  the  history  of  the  country  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago. 
The  case  is  not  parallel.     The  ability  of. the  country 
rms  greatly  increased  since.     The  object  of  that  tax  was 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  189 

unpopular.  But  on  this,  as  well  as  my  memory  and  al- 
most infant  observation  at  that  time  serve  me,  the  objec- 
tion was  not  to  the  tax,  or  its  amount,  but  the  mode  of 
collection.  The  eye  of  the  nation  was  frightened  by 
the  number  of  officers ;  its  love  of  liberty  shocked  with 
the  multiplicity  of  regulations.  We,  in  the  vile  spirit  of 
imitation,  copied  from  the  most  oppressive  part  of  Euro- 
pean laws  on  that  subject,  and  imposed  on  a  young  and 
virtuous  nation  all  the  severe  provisions  made  necessary 
by  corruption  and  long-growing  chicane.  If  taxes 
should  become  necessary,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  the 
people  will  pay  cheerfully.  It  is  for  their  government 
and  their  cause,  and  would  be  their  interest,  and  duty  to 
pay.  But  it  may  be,  and  I  believe  was  said,  that  the 
nation  will  not  pay  taxes,  because  the  rights  violated  are 
not  worth  defending ;  or  that  the  defence  will  cost  more 
than  the  profit. 

"  Sir,  I  here  enter  my  solemn  protest  against  this  low 
and  'calculating  avarice'  entering  this  hall  of  legisla- 
tion. It  is  only  fit  for  shops  and  counting-houses,  and 
ought  not  to  disgrace  the  seat  of  sovereignty  by  its 
squalid  and  vile  appearance.  Whenever  it  touches 
sovereign  power,  the  nation  is  ruined.  It  is  too  short- 
sighted to  defend  itself.  It  is  an  unpromising  spirit, 
always  ready  to  yield  a  part  to  save  the  balance.  It  is 
too  timid  to  have  in  itself  the  laws  of  self-preservation. 
It  is  never  safe  but  under  the  shield  of  honor.  Sir,  I 
only  know  of  one  principle  to  make  a  nation  great,  to 
produce  in  this  country  not  the  form  but  real  spirit  of 
union,  and  that  is,  to  protect  every  citizen  in  the  lawful 
pursuit  of  his  business.  He  will  then  feel  that  he  is 


|90  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

backed  by  the  government — that  its  arm  is  his  arms,  and 
will  rejoice  in  its  increased  strength  and  prosperity. 
Protection  and  patriotism  are  reciprocal.  This  is  the 
road  that  all  great  nations  have  trod.  Sir,  I  am  not 
versed  in  this  calculating  policy,  and  will  not,  therefore, 
pretend  to  estimate  in  dollars  and  cents  the  value  ot 
national  independence  or  national  affection.  I  cannot 
dare  to  measure  in  shillings  and  pence  the  misery,  the 
stripes  and  the  slavery  of  our  impressed  seamen  ;  nor 
even  to  value  our  shipping,  commercial  and  agricultural 
losses  under  the  orders  in  council  and  the  British  system 
of  blockade.  I  hope  I  have  not'  condemned  any  pru- 
dent estimate  of  the  means  of  a  country,  before  it  enters 
on  a  war.  This  is  wisdom,  the  other  folly." 

On  the  retirement  of  General  Porter  from  Congress 
early  in  the  session  of  1811,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  which 
committee,  in  addition  to  their  other  appropriate  duties, 
were  called  upon  to  report  bills  to  carry  into  effect  the 
military  preparations  they  had  recommended.  Thus,  by 
circumstances,  as  well  as  by  natural  competency,  was 
he  at  this  early  period  in  the  front  rank  of  the  brave 
party,  which  sustained  the  war  with  England. 

When  we  come  more  particularly  to  analyze  the  elo- 
quence of  Mr.  Calhoun,  we  shall  point  out  more  spe- 
cifically his  short  and  pregnant  sentences,  disregard  of 
oratorical  conventionalities,  and  bold  directness  of  die 
tion.  But  we  cannot  help  remarking  in  view  of  hii 
earliest  efforts,  the  marked  and  characteristic  features  of 
his  most  mature  productions.  In  the  former,  as  in  the 
atter,  are  displayed  those  remarkable  powers  of  reason- 


JOHN    C.    CALHODN.  191 

ing  which  ha\  e  made  his  speeches  to  take  a  place  among 
the  most  admirable  political  literature  of  the  age.  His 
independent  self-reliance  equals  the  clearness  of  his 
perception,  and  imparts  a  singular  force  to  his  style. 
Thus  when  the  embargo  was  greatly  relied  on,  and  the 
enthusiastic  South  greatly  praised  the  scheme,  the  young 
statesman  had  the  hardihood  to  oppose  it  in  the  follow- 
ing terms : 

"  The  restrictive  system,  as  a  mode  of  resistance,  or 
as  a  means  of  obtaining  redress,  has  never  been  a  favorite 
one  with  me.  I  wish  not  to  censure  the  motives  which 
dictated  it,  or  attribute  weakness  to  those  who  first  re- 
sorted to  it  for  a  restoration  of  our  rights.  But  I  object 
to  the  restrictive  system,  because  it  does  not  suit  the 
genius  of  the  people,  or  that  of  our  Government,  or  the 
geographical  character  of  our  country.  We  are  a 
people  essentially  active ;  I  may  say  we  are  pre- 
eminently so.  No  passive  system  can  suit  such  a  people ; 
in  action  superior  to  all  others,  in  patient  endurance 
inferior  to  none.  Nor  does  it  suit  the  genius  of  our 
Government.  Our  Government  is  founded  on  freedom, 
and  hates  coercion.  To  make  the  restrictive  system 
effective,  requires  the  most  arbitrary  laws.  England, 
with  the  severest  penal  statutes,  has  not  been  able 
to  exclude  prohibited  articles ;  and  Napoleon,  with  all 
his  power  and  vigilance,  was  obliged  to  resort  to  the 
most  barbarous  laws  to  enforce  his  Continental  system." 

After  showing  how  the  whole  mercantile  community 
must  become  corrupt  by  the  temptations  and  facilities 
for  smuggling,  and  how  the  public  opinion  of  the  com- 
mercial community  (upon  which  the  system  must  depend 


192  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

for  its  enforcement),  becomes  opposed  to  it,  and  gives 
sanction  to  its  violation,  he  proceeds — 

"But  there  are  other  objections  to  the  system.  It 
renders  Government  odious.  The  farmer  inquires  why 
he  gets  no  more  for  his  produce,  and  he  is  told  it  is  owing 
to  the  embargo,  or  commercial  restrictions.  In  this  he 
sees  only  the  hand  of  his  own  Government,  and  not  the 
acts  of  violence  and  injustice  which  this  system  is  intend- 
ed to  counteract.  His  censures  fall  on  the  Government. 
This  is  an  unhappy  state  of  the  public  mind ;  and  even, 
I  might  say,  in  a  Government  resting  essentially  on  pub- 
lic opinion,  a  dangerous  one.  In  war  it  is  different.  Its 
privation,  it  is  true,  may  be  equal  or  greater ;  but  the 
public  mind,  under  the  strong  impulses  of  that  state  of 
things,  becomes  steeled  against  sufferings.  The  differ- 
ence is  almost  infinite  between  the  passive  and  active 
state  of  the  mind.  Tie  down  a  hero,  and  he  feels  the 
puncture  of  a  pin  ;  throw  him  into  battle,  and  he  is  al- 
most insensible  to  vital  gashes.  So  in  war.  Impelled 
alternately  by  hope  and  fear,  stimulated  by  revenge,  de- 
pressed by  shame,  or  elevated  by  victory,  the  people 
become  invincible.  No  privation  can  shake  their  forti- 
tude; no  calamity  break  their  spirit.  Even  when 
equally  successful,  the  contrast  between  the  two  sys- 
tems is  striking.  War  and  restriction  may  leave  the 
country  equally  exhausted  ;  but  the  latter  not  only  leaves 
you  poor,  but,  even  when  successful,  dispirited,  divided, 
discontented,  with  diminished  patriotism,  and  the  morals 
of  a  considerable  portion  of  your  people  corrupted. 
Not  so  in  war.  In  that  state,  the  common  danger  unites 
all,  strengthens  the  bonds  of  society,  and  feeds  the 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  193 

flame  of  patriotism.  The  national  character  mounts  to 
energy.  In  exchange  for  the  expenses  and  privations  ot 
war,  you  obtain  military  and  naval  skill,  and 'a  more  per- 
fect organization  of  such  parts  of  your  Administration 
as  are  connected  with  the  science  of  national  defence. 
Sir,  are  these  advantages  to  be  counted  as  trifles  in  the 
state  of  the  world  ?  Can  they  be  measured  by  moneyed 
valuation  ?  I  would  prefer  a  single  victory  over  the 
enemy,  by  sea  or  land,  to  all  the  good  we  shall  ever 
derive  from  the  continuation  of  the  Non-importation  Act. 
I  know  not  that  a  victory  would  produce  an  equal  pres 
sure  on  the  enemy ;  but  I  am  certain  of  what  is  of 
greater  consequence,  it  would  be  accompanied  by  mo»a 
salutary  effects  on  ourselves.  The  memory  of  Saratop*, 
Princeton,  and  Eutaw  are  immortal.  It  is  there  you 
will  find  the  country's  boast  and  pride — the  inexhausti- 
ble source  of  great  and  heroic  sentiments.  But  what 
will  history  say  of  restriction  ?  What  examples  worthy 
of  imitation  will  it.  furnish  to  posterity?  What  pride, 
what  pleasure,  will  our  children  find  in  the  events  of 
such  times  ?  Let  me  not  be  considered  romantic.  This 
nation  ought  to  be  taught  to  rely  on  its  courage,  its  for 
titude,  its  skill  and  virtue,  for  protection.  These  are  the 
only  safe-guards  in  the  hour  of  danger.  Man  was  en- 
dued with  these  great  qualities  for  his  defence.  There  is 
nothing  about  him  that  indicates  that  he  is  to  conquer 
by  endurance.  He  is  not  incrusted  in  a  shell ;  he  is  not 
taught  to  rely  upon  his  insensibility,  his  passive  suffering, 
for  defence.  No,  sir  ;  it  is  on  the  invincible  mind,  on  a 
magnanimous  nature,  he  ought  to  rely.  Here  is  the 
superiority  of  oui  kind  ;  it  is  these  that  render  man  the 
9 


194  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

lord  of  the  world.  It  is  the  destiny  of  his  condition  that 
nations  rise  above  nations,  as  they  are  endued  in  a  great- 
er degree  with  these  brilliant  qualities." 

It  will  not  be  expected  that  in  the  brief  biographical 
sketch  requisite  to  our  present  purpose,  that  we  should 
attempt  to  trace  the  numerous  and  invaluable  services 
of  Mr.  Oalhoun  during  the  war.  During  the  gloom  of 
that  period,  calculated  to  overwhelm  and  appal  every 
heart  not  fortified  with  patriotism  of  the  purest  stamp, 
he  never  faltered,  never  despaired  of  a  glorious  triumph 
over  all  opposition  ;  but  by  his  genius  and  wisdom,  he 
rose  conspicuous  in  the  constellation  of  talents  which 
distinguished  the  parties  both  for  and  against  the  mea- 
sures he  chiefly  drafted  and  perpetually  sustained,  and 
in  the  popular  branch  of  Congress,  signalized  himself  as 
the  main  support  of  the  "  second  war  of  independence." 
At  a  subsequent  session,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  committee  on  currency,  in  which  capa- 
city he  originated  and  sustained  with  great  success  mea- 
sures which  materially  benefitted  the  financial  condition 
of  the  whole  country.  It  was  while  struggling  in  this 
sphere  of  usefulness  that  he  had  pronounced  in  his  pre- 
sence the  following  encomium  by  Mr.  Grosvenor,  a 
strong  political  opponent. — "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  will  not  be 
restrained — no  barrier  shall  exist,  which  I  will  not  leap 
over,  for  the  purpose  of  offering  to  that  gentleman  my 
thanks  for  the  judicious,  independent,  and  national 
course  which  he  *as  pursued  in  the  House  for  the  last 
two  years,  and  particularly  on  the  subject  now  before 
us.  Let  the  honorable  gentleman  continue  with  the 
same  independence,  aloof  from  party  views  and  local 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  195 

prejudices,  to  pursue  the  great  interests  of  his  country, 
and  fulfill  the  high  destiny  for  which  it  is  manifest  he 
was  born.  The  buz?  of  popular  applause  may  not 
cheer  him  on  the  way,  but  he  will  inevitably  arrive  at  a 
high  and  happy  elevation  in  the  view  of  his  country  and 
the  world."  • 

After  a  brilliant  career  in  Congress  of  six  years,  a 
new  and  yet  more  exalted  theatre  was  opened  for  the 
display  of  his  talents.  In  December,  1817,  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  appointed  by  Mr.  Monroe  to  to  the  office  of  Secre- 
tary of  War.  He  entered  this  department  under  the 
most  adverse  circumstances,  but  only  the  more  to  devel- 
op his  sagacity  and  practical  skill.  He  found  upwards 
of  forty  millions  of  dollars  of  unsettled  accounts,  which 
ne  speedily  reduced  to  three  millions.  In  addition  to 
this  great  liquidation  of  the  public  debt,  it  is  said  he  con- 
ferred upon  the  republic  a  still  greater  service,  by  the 
exactness  of  accountability  which  he  introduced  into 
every  branch  of  the  disbursements,  and  in  consequence 
of  which  he  was  enabled  to  report  to  Congress  in  1823, 
that  of  the  entire  amount  of  money  drawn  from  the 
Treasury  in  1822,  for  the  military  service,  amounting  to 
four,  millions  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  over, 
although  it  passed  through  the  hands  of  nearly  three 
hundred  disbursing  agents,  there  had  not  been  a  single 
defalcation,  nor  the  loss  of  a  cent  to  the  government ; 
and  by  various  other  retrenchments  he  had  saved  to  the 
country  annually  more  than  one  million  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

It  is  well  known  that  Mr.  Calhoun  was  twice  elected 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  upon  which  office 


196  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

he  conferred  a  dignity  and  character  every  way  worthy 
of  himself  and  the  station. 

On  Mr.  Hayne's  election  as  Governor  of  South  Caro- 
lina, Mr.  Calhoun,  then  Vice-President,  was  chosen  to 
fill  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Says 
a  writer,  "  It  had  been  intimated  that  he  was  to  have 
been  arrested  on  his  road  to  Washington  ;  and  with  the 
single  exception  which  was  presented  by  Mr.  O'Connell's 
initiation  into  the  British  Parliament,  after  the  passage 
of  the  Catholic  Emancipation  Bill,  there  never  was  a 
moment  when  the  swearing  in  of  a  new  member  was 
awaited  with  expectation  so  anxious  and  curious.  When 
he  entered  the  Senate  Chamber,  where- for  the  seven  last 
years  he  had  presided,  over  which  he  then  held  authority 
as  representative  of  the  collected  Union,  and  in  which 
he  now  appeared  as  the  delegate  of  a  State,  which  the 
federal  authorities  had  pronounced  to  be  in  open  rebel- 
lion, all  eyes  were  turned  upon  him,  and  every  ear  was 
open  to  catch  the  slightest  whisper,  as  he  was  called 
upon  to  take  the  constitutional  oath.  Very  different  is 
the  impression  left  on  the  mind  by  the  swaggering  air 
with  which  the  great  Irish  agitator  tossed  off,  as  it  were, 
a  dose  which  he  would  soon  take  means  to  get  rid  of, 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  the  oath 
of  disregard  to  papal  supremacy;  and  that  created  by 
the  calm  and  religious  tone  with  which  the  southern 
chief  repeated  those  solemn  words  which  called  God  and 
his  country  to  witness  his  fidelity  to  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. When  the  ceremony  was  over,  and  he  had 
taken  his  seat  among  his  old  political  friends,  now,  with 
but  few  exceptions/  arranged  in  hostile  array  against 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  197 

him,  it  was  impossible  but  that  the  hard  feelings  of  party 
should  have  become  a  little  softened.  No  one  who 
knew  his  purity  of  character  or  purpose,  who  recollected 
that  twenty  years  had  passed  since  he  entered  into  the 
political  arena,  and  that,  in  that  long  period,  there  had  not 
been  a  speck  on  his  fair  and  honorable  fame,  no  one  who 
had  stood  by  him  in  the  calamities  of  the  war  of  1812,  or 
the  perils  of  the  re-action  of  1816,  could  then  believe  that 
he  harbored  in  his  heart,  for  an  instant,  a  reservation  to 
the  oath  he  had  taken.  There  were  many  who  may  have 
looked  upon  him  as  an  ambitious  and  dangerous  man, 
but  we  question  whether  there  were  any  who  knew  his 
character,  and  knew  his  history,  who  doubted,  no  matter 
how  mistaken  they  might  have  considered  his  notions  of 
the  unconstitutionality  of  the  tariff  of  1828,  the  full  sin- 
cerity of  his  attachment  to  the  limited  constitution 
under  which  the  Union  exists." 

It  was  said  in  the  outset  that  Mr.  Calhoun's  political 
life  should  be  divided  into  three  great  eras.  We  have 
described  the  first,  and  the  opening  session  of  Congress, 
to  "which  we  have  just  alluded,  marks  the  second.  It 
was  then  that  the  great  battle  of  State-Rights  was 
fought,  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Webster  being  the  leading 
champions.  We  subjoin  two  passages  from  that  stage 
in  the  debate  in  which  the  two  great  statesmen  examine 
the  interpretation  given  by  the  Constitution  itself,  of 
the  question  whether  the  Constitution  is  a  compact  or 
otherwise. 

ME.    WEBSTER. 

"Whether  the  Constitution  be  a  compact  between 
States  in  their  sovereign  capacities,  is  a  question  which 


198  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

must  be  mainly  argued  from  what  is  contained  in  the 
instrument  itself.  We  all  agree  that  it  is  an  instrument 
which  has  been  in  some  way  clothed  with  power.  We 
all  admit  that  it  speaks  with  authority.  The  first  ques- 
tion then  is — What  does  it  say  of  itself?  What  does  it 
purport  to  be  ?  Does  it  style  itself  a  league,  confederacy, 
or  compact  between  sovereign  States  ?  It  is  to  be  re- 
membered, that  the  Constitution  began  to  speak  only 
after  its  adoption.  Until  it  was  ratified  by  nine  States, 
it  was  but  a  proposal,  the  mere  draft  of  an  instrument. 
It  was  like  a  deed  drawn  but  not  executed.  The  Con- 
vention had  framed  it ;  sent  it  to  Congress  then  sitting 
under  the  Confederation :  Congress  had  transmitted  it  to 
the  State  Legislatures ;  and  by  the  last,  it  was  laid  be- 
fore the  Conventions  of  the  people  in  the  several  States. 
All  this  while  it  was  inoperative  paper.  It  had  received 
no  stamp  of  authority:  it  spoke  no  language.  But  when 
ratified  by  the  people  in  their  respective  Conventions, 
then  it  had  a  voice  and  spoke  authentically.  Every 
word  in  it  had  then  received  the  sanction' of  the  popu- 
lar will,  and  was  to  be  received  as  the  expression  of  that 
will.  What  the  Constitution  says  of  itself,  therefore,  is 
as  conclusive  as  what  it  says  on  any  other  point.  Does 
it  call  itself  a  'compact?'  Certainly  not.  It  uses  the 
word  compact  but  once,  and  that  is  when  it  declares 
that  the  States  shall  enter  into  no  compact.  Does  it 
call  itself  a  '  league,'  a  '  confederacy,'  a  '  subsisting  treaty 
between  the  States  ?'  Certainly  not.  There  is  not  a 
particle  of  such  language  in  all  its  pages.  But  it  de- 
clares itself  a  CONSTITUTION.  What  is  a  Constitution  ? 
Certainly  not  a  league  or  confederacy,  but  a  funda- 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  I'j'J 

~\.  -X* 

mental  law.  That  fundamenta1  regulation  which  de- 
termines the  manner  in  which  the  public  authority  is  to 
be  executed,  is  what  forms  the  Constitution  of  a  State. 
Those  primary  rules  which  concern  the  body  itself, 
and  the  very  being  of  the  political  society,  the  form  of 
government  and  the  manner  in  which  power  is  to  be 
exercised — all,  in  a  word,  which  form  together  the  Con- 
stitution of  a  State — these  are  fundamental  laws.  This 
is  the  language  of  the  public  writers.  But  do  we  need 
to  be  informed  in  this  country  what  a  constitution  is  ? 
Is  it  not  an  idea  perfectly  familiar,  definite  and  well 
settled  ?  We  are  at  no  loss  to  understand  what  is 
meant  by  the  Constitution  of  one  of  the  States — and 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  speaks  of  itself  as 
being  an  instrument  of  the  same  nature.  It  says,  this 
Constitution  shall  be  the  law  of  the  land,  anything  in 
State  Constitutions  to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding. 
And  speaks  of  itself,  too,  in  plain  contradistinction  from 
a  confedeuation  :  for  it  says,  that  all  debts  contracted, 
and  all  engagements  entered  into  by  the  United  States 
shall  be  as  valid  under  this  Constitution  as  under  the 
Confederation.  It  does  not  say,  as  valid  under  this  com- 
pact, or  this  league,  or  this  confederation,  as  under  the 
former  confederation,  but  as  valid  under  this  Constitu- 

ti.M," 

MR.    CALHOUN. 

"  It  now  remains  to  consider  the  third  and  last  propo- 
sition contained  in  the  resolution — that  it  is  a  binding 
and  a  subsisting  compact  between  the  States.  The  Sena- 
tor was  not  explicit  on  this  point.  1  understand  him, 
however,  as  asserting  that  though  formed  by  the  States, 


'•*  .  V* 

Jl  V  * 

200  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  Constitution  was  not  binding  between  the  States  as 
distinct  communities,  but  between  the  American  people 
in  the  aggregate,  who,  in  consequence  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  according  to  the  opinion  of   the 
Senator,  became  one  people,  at  least  to  the  extent  of 
the  delegated  powers.     This  would,  indeed,  be  a  great 
change.     All  acknowledge,  that  previous  to  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  the  States  constituted  distinct  and 
independent  communities  in  full  possession  of  their  sove- 
reignty; and  surely,  if  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
was  intended  to  effect  the  great  and  important  change 
in  their  condition  which  the  theory  of  the  Senator  sup- 
poses, some  evidence  of  it  ought  to  be  found  in  the  in- 
strument itself.     It  professes  to  be  a  careful  and  full 
enumeration  of  all  the  powers  which  the  States  dele- 
gated,  and  of  every   modification    of    their    political 
condition.     The  Senator  said,  that  he  looked  to  the  Con- 
stitution in  order  to  ascertain  its  real  character;  and 
surely  he  ought  to  look  to  the  same  instrument  in  order 
to  ascertain  what  changes  were  in  fact  made  in  the 
political  condition  of  the  States  and  the  country.     But 
with  the  exception  of  'We,  the  people  of  the  United 
States,'  in  the  preamble,  he  has  not  pointed  out  a  single 
indication  in  the  Constitution  of  the  great  change  which 
he  conceives  has  been  effected  in  this  respect.     Now, 
sir,  I  intend  to  prove  that  the  only  argument  on  which 
the  gentleman  relies  on  this  point,  must  utterly  fail  him. 
I  do  not  intend  to  go  into  a  critical  examination  of  the 
expression  of  the  preamble  to  which  I  have  referred.    I  do 
not  deem  it  necessary ;  but  were  it,  it  might  easily  be  shown 
that  it  is  at  least  as  applicable  to  my  view  of  the  Consti- 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  201 

tution  as    to    that  of  the  Senator,  and  that  the  whole 
of  his  argument  on  this  point  rests  on  the  ambiguity  of 
the  term   thirteen    United   States;    which  may    mean 
certain  territorial  limits  comprehending   within    them 
the  whole  of  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  Union. 
In  this  sense   the  people   of   the   United  States   may 
mean   all  the  people  living  within  these  limits,  with- 
out reference  to   the   States    or   Territories  in  which 
they  may  reside,  or  of  which  they  may  be  citizens,  and 
it  is  in  this  sense  only  that  the  expression  gives  the  least 
countenance  to  the  opinion  of  the  Senator.     But  it  may 
also   mean   the  States  united,  which   inversion   alone, 
without  further  explanation,  removes  the  ambiguity  to 
which  I  have  referred.     The  expression  in  this  sense, 
means  no  more  than  to  speak  of  the  people  of  the  seve- 
ral States  in  their  united  and  confederated  capacity,  and 
if  it  were  requisite,  it  might  be  shown  that  it  is  only  in 
this  sense  that  the  expression  is  used  in  the  Constitu- 
tion.    But  it  is  not  necessary.     A  single  argument  will 
for  ever  settle  this  point.     Whatever  may  be  the  true 
meaning  of  this  expression,  it  is  not  applicable  to  the 
condition  of  the  States  as  they  exist  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, but  as  it  was  under  the  old  confederation  before  its 
adoption.     The  Constitution  had  not  yet  been  adopted, 
and  the  States  in  ordaining  it  could  only  speak  of  them- 
selves in  the  condition  in  which  they  then  existed,  and 
not  in  that  in  which  they  would  exist  under  the  Consti- 
tution.    So  that  if  the  argument  of  the  Senator  proves 
anything,  it  proves,  not,  as  he  supposes,  that  the  Consti- 
tution forms   the  American  people  into   an  aggregate 
9* 


202  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

mass  of  individuals,  but  that  such  was  their  political 
condition  before  it  was  adopted  under  the  old  confede- 
ration, directly  contrary  to  his  argument  in  the  previous 
part  of  the  discussion. 

"  But  I  intend  not  to  leave  this  important  point,  the  last 
refuge   of  those  who  advocate  consolidation,  even  on 
this  conclusive  argument.     I  have  shown  that  the  Con- 
stitution affords  not  the  least  evidence  of  the  mighty 
change  of  the  political  condition  of  the  States  and  the 
country,  which  the  Senator  supposed  it  effected ;  and  I 
intend  now,  by  the  most  decisive  proof  drawn  from  the 
constitutional  instrument  itself,  to  show  that  no  such 
change  was  intended,  and  that  the  people  are  united 
under  it  as  States,  and  not  as  individuals.     On  this  point 
there  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  Constitution  en- 
tirely and  strangely  overlooked  by  the  Senator  in  this 
debate,  as  it  is  expressed  in  the  first  resolution,  which  fur- 
nishes the  conclusive  evidence,  not  .only  that  the  Consti- 
tution is  a  compact,  but  a  subsisting  compact,  binding 
between  the  States.     I  allude  to  the  7th   article,  which 
provides  that   'the  ratification  of   the  Convention    of 
ni-ne  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same.' 
Yes,  between  the  States — these  little  words  mean  a  vol- 
ume— compacts,  not  laws,  bind  beticeen  the  States,  and 
it  here  binds,  not  between  individuals,  but  between  the 
States, — tlie  States  ratifying — imply,  as  strong  as  lan- 
guage can  make  it,  that  the  Constitution  is  what  I  have 
asserted  it  to  be — a  compact  ratifying  the  States,  and  a 
subsisting  compact  binding  the  States  ratifying  it. 
"  But,  sir,  I  sh'all  not  leave  this  point,  all-important  in 


JtDHV    C.    CALHOUN.  203 

establishing  the  true  theory  of  our  government,-.on  this 
argument  alone — demonstrative  and  conclusive  as  I  hold 
it  to  be.  Another,  not  much  less  powerful,  but  of  a 
different  character,  may  be  drawn  from  the  12th  amend- 
ed article,  which  provides  that '  the  powers  not  delegated 
to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited 
to  it  by  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respect- 
ively or  to  the  people.'  The  article  of  ratification  which 
I  have  just  cited,  informs  us  that  the  Constitution  which 
delegates  powers,  was  ratified  by  the  States,  and  is  bind- 
ing between  them.  This  informs  us  to  whom  the  powers 
are  delegated,  a  most  important  fact  in  determining  the 
point  at  issue  between  the  Senator  and  myself.  Ac- 
cording to  his  views,  the  Constitution  created  a  union 
between  individuals,  if  the  solecism  may  be  allowed, 
and  that  it  formed,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  the  powers  del- 
egated, one  people,  arid  not  a  Federal  Union  of  the  States, 
as  I  contend  ;  or  to  express  the  same  idea  differently,  that 
the  delegation  of  powers  was  to  the  American  people  in 
the  aggregate  (for  it  is  only  by  such  delegation  that  they 
could  be  made  into  one  people);  and  not  to  the  United 
States,  directly  contrary  to  the  article  just  cited,  which 
declares  that  the  powers  are  delegated  to  the  United 
States.  And  here  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  Sena- 
tor cannot  shelter  himself  under  the  ambiguous  phrase 
'to  the  people  of  the  United  States,'  under  which  he 
would  qertainly  have  taken  refuge,  had  the  Constitu- 
tion so  expressed  it;  but  fortunately  for  the  cause  of 
truth,  and  for  the  great  principles  of  constitutional  liber- 
ty, for  which  I  am  contending,  '  people'  is  omitted ;  thus 
making  the  delegation  of  power  clear  and  unequivocal 


204  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

to  the  United  States  as  distinct  political  communities, 
and  conclusively  proving  that  all  the  powers  delegated 
are  reciprocally  delegated  by  the  States  to  each  other, 
as  distinct  political  communities." 

To  this  same  period  belongs  Mr.  Calhoun's  speech 
against  the  Force  Bill,  in  which  he  defended  himself 
against  the  accusations  of  General  Jackson.  Said  he  : 

"Here  I  must  pause  for  a  moment  to  repel  a  charge 
which  has  been  so  often  made,  and  which  even  the  Pre- 
sident has  reiterated  in  his  proclamation ;  the  charge 
that  I  have  been  actuated  in  the  part  which  I  have  taken 
by  feelings  of  disappointed  ambition.  I  again  repeat 
that  I  deeply  regret  the  necessity  of  noticing  myself  in 
so  important  a  discussion ;  and  that  nothing  can  induce 
me  to  advert  to  my  own  course  but  the  conviction  that 
it  is  due  to  the  cause  at  which  a  blow  is  aimed  through 
me.  It  is  only  in  this  view  that  I  notice  it. 

"  It  ill  became  the  Chief  Magistrate  to  make  this 
charge.  The  course  which  the  State  took,  and  which 
led  to  the  present  controversy  between  her  and  the  Gen- 
eral Government  was  taken  as  far  back  as  1828,  in  the 
very  midst  of  that  severe  canvass  which  placed  him  in 
power,  and  in  that  very  canvass  Carolina  openly  avow- 
ed and  zealously  maintained  those  very  principles  which 
he,  the  Chief  Magistrate,  now  officially  pronounces  to  be 
treason  and  rebellion.  That  was  the  period  at  which  he 
ought  to  have  spoken.  Having  remained  silent  then, 
and  having,  under  his  approval,  implied  by  that  silence, 
received  the  support  and  vote  of  the  State,  I,  if  a  sense 
of  decorum  did  not  prevent  it,  might  recriminate  with 
the  double  charge  of  deception  and  ingratitude  M v 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  205 

object,  however,  is  not  to  assail  the  President,  but  to 
defend  myself  against  a  most  unfounded  charge.  The 
time  alone  at  which  the  course  upon  which  this  charge 
of  disappointed  ambition  is  founded,  will  of  itself  repel 
it,  in  the  eye  of  every  unprejudiced  and  honest  man. 
The  doctrine  which  I  now  sustain,  under  the  present 
difficulties,  I  openly  avowed  and  maintained  immedi- 
ately after  the  act  of  1828  ;  that  "  bill  of  abominations," 
as  it  has  been  so  often  and  properly  termed.  Was  I  at 
that  period  disappointed  in  any  views  of  ambition  which 
I  might  be  supposed  to  entertain  ?  I  was  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  elected  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.  I  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  on  the 
ticket  with  General  Jackson  himself,  with  a  certain  pros- 
pect of  a  triumphant  success  of  that  ticket,  and  with  a 
fair  prospect  of  the  highest  office  to  which  an  American 
citizen  can  aspire.  What  was  my  course  under  these 
prospects  ?  Did  I  look  to  my  own  advancement,  or  to 
an  honest  and  faithful  discharge  of  my  duty  ?  Let 
facts  speak  for  themselves.  When  the  bill  to  which  I 
have  referred  came  from  the  other  House  to  the  Senate, 
the  almost  universal  impression  was,  that  its  fate  would 
depend  upon  my  casting  vote.  It  was  known  that,  as 
the  bill  then  stood,  the  Senate  was  nearly  equally  divi- 
ded ;  and  as  it  was  a  combined  measure,  originating 
with  the  politicians  and  manufacturers,  and  intended  as 
much  to  bear  upon  the  Presidential  election  as  to  pro- 
tect manufactures,  it  was  believed  that,  as  a  stroke  of 
political  policy,  its  fate  would  be  made  to  depend  on 
my  vote  in  order  to  defeat  General  Jackson's  election, 
as  well  as  my  own.  The  friends  cf  General  Jackson 


206  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

were  alarmed,  and  I  was  earnestly  entreated  to  leave  the 
chair,  in  order  to  avoid  the  responsibility,   under  the 
plausible  argument  that,  if  the  Senate  sho'uld  be  equally 
divided,  the  bill  would  be  lost  without  the  aid  of  my  cast- 
ing vote.     The  reply  to  this  entreaty  was,  that  no  con- 
sideration, personal  to  myself,  could  induce  me  to  take 
such  a  course ;  that  I  considered  the  measure  as  of  the 
most  dangerous  character,  and  calculated  to  produce  the 
most  fearful  crisis ;  that  the  payment  of  the  public  debt 
was  just  at  hand ;  and  that  the  great  increase  of  reve- 
nue which  it  would  pour  into  the  treasury  would  accele- 
rate the  approach  of  that  period,  and  that  the  country 
would  be  placed  in  the  most  trying  of  situations,  with 
an  immense  revenue,  without  the  means  of  absorption 
upon  any  legitimate  or  constitutional  object  of  appro- 
priation, and  would  be  compelled  to  submit   to  all  the 
cprrupting  consequences  of  a  large  surplus,  or  to  make 
a  sudden  reduction  of  the  rates  of  duties,  which  would 
prove  ruinous  to  the  very  interests  which  were  then 
forcing  the  passage  of  the  bill.     Under  these  views,  I 
determined  to  remain  in  the  chair,  and  if  the  bill  came 
to  me  to  give  my  casting  vote  against  it,  and  in   doing 
so,  to  give  my  reasons  at  large  ;  but  at  the  same  time, 
I   informed  my  friends  that  I  would  retire  from  the 
ticket,  so  that  the  election  of  General  Jackson  might  not 
be  embarrassed  by  any  act  of  mine.     Sir,  I  was  amazed 
at  the  folly  and  infatuation  of  that  period.     So  com- 
pletely absorbed  was  Congress  in  the  game  of  ambition 
and  avarice,  from  the  double  impulse  of  the  manufac- 
turers and  politicians,  that  none  but  a  few  appeared  to 
anticipate   the   present  crisis,  at   which   now   all    are' 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  207 

alarmed,  but  which  is  the  inevitable  result  of  what  was 
then  done.  As  to  myself,  I  clearly  foresaw  what  has 
since  followed.  The  road  of  ambition  lay  open  before 
me — I  had  but  to  follow  the  corrupt  tendency  of  the 
times :  but  I  choose  to  tread  the  rugged  path  of  duty." 

After  having  corrected,  as  he  believed,  some  of  the 
prominent  misrepresentations  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
controversy  with  South  Carolina,  and  giving  a  rapid 
sketch  of  the  movements  of  that  State  in  reference  to  it, 
he  next  proceeds  to  notice  some  objections  connected 
with  the  ordinance,  and  the  proceedings  under  it : 

"  The  first  and  most  prominent  of  these  is  directed 
against  what  is  called  the  Test  Oath,  which  an  effort  has 
been  made  to  render  odious.  So  far  from  deserving  the 
denunciation  which  has  been  levelled  against  it,  I  view 
this  provision  of  the  ordinance  as  but  the  natural  result 
of  the  doctrines  entertained  by  the  State,  and  the  posi- 
tion which  she  occupies.  The  people  .of  that  State  be- 
lieve that  the  Union  is  a  union  of  States,  and  not  of 
individuals  ;  that  it  was  formed  by  the  States,  and  that 
the  citizens  of  the  several  States  were  bound  to  it  through 
the  acts  of  their  several  States ;  that  each  State  ratified 
the  Constitution  for  itself,  and  that  it  was  only  by  such 
ratificatioa  of  a  State  that  any  obligation  was  imposed 
upon  the  citizens  :  thus  believing,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
people  of  Carolina  that  it  belongs  to  the  State  which  has 
imposed  the  obligation  to  declare,  in  the  last  resort,  the 
extent  of  this  obligation,  as  far  as  her  citizens  are  con- 
cerned ;  and  this  upon  the  plain  principles  which  exist 
in  all  analagous  cases  of  compact  between  sovereign 
bodies.  On  this  principle  the  people  of  the  State,  acting 


208  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

in  their  sovereign  capacity  in  convention,  precisely  as 
they  adopted  their  own  and  the  Federal  Constitution, 
have  declared  by  the  ordinance,  that  the  acts  of  Congress 
which  imposed  duty  under  the  authority  to  lay  imposts 
are  acts  not  for  revenue,  as  intended  by  the  Constitu- 
tions, but  for  protection,  and  therefore  null  and  void, 
The  ordinance  thus  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State 
themselves,  acting  as  a  sovereign  community,  is  as  obli- 
gatory on  the  citizens  of  the  State  as  any  portion  of  the 
Constitution.     In  prescribing,  then,  the  oath  to  obey  the 
ordinance,  no  more  was  done  than  to  prescribe  an  oath 
to  obey  the  Constitution.     It  is,  in  fact,  but  a  particular 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  in  every  respect  similar  to  that 
which  is  prescribed  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  to  be  administered  to  all  the  officers  of  the  State 
and  Federal  Governments  ;  and  is  no  more  deserving 
the  harsh  and  bitter  epithets  which  have  been  heaped 
upon  it  than  that,  or  any  similar  oath.     It  ought  to  be 
borne  in  mind,  that,  according  to  the  opinion  which  pre- 
vails in  Carolina,  the  right  of  resistance  to  the  uncon- 
stitutional laws  of  Congress  belongs  to  the  State,  and  not 
to  her  individual  citizens  ;  and  that,  though  the  latter 
may,   in  a  mere  question  of  meum   and   tuum,  resist, 
through  the  courts,  an  unconstitutional  encroachment 
upon  their  rights,  yet  the  final  stand  against  usurpation 
rests  not  with  them,  but  with  the  State  of  which   they 
are  members  ;  and  such   act  of  resistance  by  a  State 
binds  the  conscience  and  the  allegiance  of  the  citizen. 
But  there  appears  to  be  a  general  misapprehension  as  to 
the  extent  to  which  the  State  has  acted  under  this  part  of 
the  ordinance.     Instead  of  sweeping  every  officer  by  a 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  209 

general  proscription  of  the  minority,  as  has  been  repre- 
sented in  debate,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  not  a 
single  individual  has  been  removed.  The  State,  has,  in 
fact,  acted  with  the  greatest  tenderness,  all  circum- 
stances considered,  towards  citizens  who  differed  from 
the  majority ;  and,  in  that  spirit,  has  directed  the  oath  to 
be  administered  only  in  cases  of  some  official  act 
directed  to  be  performed,  in  which  obedience  to  the 
ordinance  is  involved. 

"  It  has  been  farther  objected  that  the  State  has  acted 
precipitately.  What !  precipitately !  after  making  a 
strenuous  resistance  for  twelve  years;  by  discussion 
here,  and  in  the  other  House  of  Congress ;  by  essays  in 
all  forms ;  by  resolutions,  remonstrances,  and  protests 
on  the  part  of  her  Legislature  ;  and,  finally,  by  attempt- 
ing an  appeal  to  the  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  ? 
I  say  attempting,  for  they  have  been  prevented  from 
bringing  the  question  fairly  before  the  Court,  and  that 
by  an  act  of  that  very  majority  in  Congress  who  now 
upbraid  them  for  not  making  that  appeal ;  of  that  ma- 
jority who,  on  a  motion  of  one  of  the  members  in  the 
other  House,  from  South  Carolina,  refused  to  give  to  the 
act  of  1828  its  true  title,  that  it  was  a  protective,  and 
not  a  revenue  act.  The  State  has  never,  it  is  true,  re- 
lied upon  that  tribunal,  the  Supreme  Court,  to  vindicate 
its  reserved  rights ;  yet  they  have  always  considered  it 
as  an  auxiliary  means  of  defence,  of  which  they  would 
gladly  have  availed  themselves  to  test  the  constitution- 
ality of  protection,  had  they  not  been  deprived  of  the 
means  of  doing  so  by  the  act  of  the  majority. 

"  Notwithstanding  this  long  delay  of  more  than  ten 


210  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

years,  under  this  continued  encroachment  of  the  Gov- 
ernment; we  now  hear  it  on  all  sides,  by  friends  and  foes, 
gravely  pronounced  that  the  State  has  acted  precipi- 
tately— that  her  conduct  has  been  rash!  That  such 
should  be  the  language  of  an  interested  majority,  who, 
by  means  of  this  unconstitutional  and  oppressive  system, 
are  annually  extorting  millions  from  the  South  to  be  be-= 
stowed  upon  other  sections,  is  not  at  all  surprising. 
Whatever  impedes  the  course  of  avarice  and  ambition 
will  ever  be  denounced  as  rash  and  precipitate*;  and  had 
South  Carolina  delayed  her  resistance  fifty  instead  of 
twelve  years,  she  would  have  heard  from  the  same  quar- 
ter the  same  language ;  but  it  is  really  surprising  that 
those  who  are  suffering  in  common  with  herself,  and  who 
have  complained  equally  loud  of  their  grievances,  who 
have  pronounced  the  very  acts  which  she  has  asserted 
within  her  limits  to  be  oppressive,  unconstitutional,  and 
ruinous,  after  so  long  a  struggle — a  struggle  longer  than 
that  which  preceded  the  separation  of  these  States  from 
the  mother  country — longer  than  the  period  of  the  Tro- 
jan war — should  now  complain  df  precipitancy  !  No, 
it  is  not  Carolina  which  has  acted  precipitately ;  but  her 
sister  States,  who  have  suffered  in  common  with  her, 
have  acted  tardily.  Had  they  acted  as  she  has  done, 
had  they  performed  their  duty  with  equal  energy  and 
promptness,  our  situation  this  day  would  be  very 
different  from  what  we  now  find  it.  Delays  are 
said  to  be  dangerous ;  and  never  was  the"  maxim  more 
true  than  in  the  present  case,  a  case  of  monopoly. 
It  is  the  very  nature  of  monopolies  to  grow.  If  we 
take  from  one  side  a  large  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  its 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  211 

labor,  and  give  it  to  the  other,  the  side  from  which  we 
take  must  constantly  decay,  and  that  to  which  we  give 
must  prosper  and  increase.  Such  is  the  action  of  the 
protective  system.  It  exacts  from  the  South  a  large 
portion  of  the  proceeds  of  its  industry,  which  it  bestows 
upon  the  other  sections,  in  the  shape  of  bounties  to 
manufactures,  and  appropriations  in  a  thousand  forms, 
pensions,  improvements  of  rivers  and  harbors,  roads  and 
canals,  and  in  every  shape  that  wit  or  ingenuity  can 
devise.  Can  we,  then,  be  surprised  that  the  principle  of 
monopoly  grows,  when  it  is  so  amply  remunerated  at  the 
expense  of  those  who  support  it?" 

The  closing  paragraphs  of  this  great  speech  are 
very  impressive.  The  orator  continues: 

"  The  controversy  is  only  as  to  the  means  by  which  our 
citizens  may  be  protected  against,  the  acknowledged  en- 
croachments on  their  rights.  This  being  the  point  at 
issue  between  the  parties,  and  the  very  object  of  the 
majority  being  an  efficient  protection  of  the  citizens 
through  the  State  tribunals,  the  measures  adopted  to 
enforce  the  ordinance  of  course  received  the  most 
decisive  character.  •  We  were  not  children  to  act  by 
halves.  Yet  for  acting  thus  efficiently  the  State  is 
denounced,  and  this  bill  reported  to  overrule,  by  military 
force,  the  civil  tribunals  and  civil  process  of  the  State  ! 
Sir,  I  consider  this  bill,  and  the  arguments  which  have 
been  urged  on  this  floor  in  its  support,  as  the ,  most  tri- 
umphant acknowledgment  that  Nullification  is  peaceful 
and  efficient,  and  so  deeply  intrenched  in  the  principles 
of  our  system,  that  it  cannot  be  assailed  but  by  prostrat- 
ing the  Constitution,  and  substituting  the  supremacy 


212  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

of  military  force  in  lieu  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
laws.  In  fact,  the  advocates  of  this  bill  refute  their 
own  argument.  They  tell  us  that  the  ordinance  is  un- 
constitutional ;  that  they  infract  the  Constitution  of 
South  Carolina,  although  to  me  the  objection  appears 
absurd,  as  it  was  adopted  by  the  very  authority  which 
adopted  the  Constitution  itself.  They  also  tell  us  that 
the  Supreme  Court  is  the  appointed  arbiter  of  all  con- 
troversies between  a  State  and  the  General  Government. 
Why  then,  do  they  not  leave  this  controversy  to  that 
tribunal  ?  Why  do  they  not  confide  to  them  the  abroga- 
tion of  the  ordinance  and  the  laws  made  in  pursuance 
of  it,  and  the  assertion  of  that  supremacy  which  they 
claim  for  the  laws  of  Congress  ?  The  State  stands 
pledged  to  resist  no  process  of  the  court.  Why,  then, 
confer  on  the  President  the  extensive  and  unlimited 
powers  provided  in  this  bill  ?  Why  authorize  him  to 
use  military  force  to  arrest  the  civil  process  of  the  State  ? 
But  one  answer  can  be  given :  That,  in  a  contest  be- 
tween the  State  and  the  General  Government,  if  the 
resistance  be  limited  on  both  sides  to  the  civil  process, 
the  State,  by  its  inherent  sovereignty,  standing  upon  its 
reserved  powers,  will  prove  too  powerfuHn  such  a  con- 
troversy, and  must  triumph  over  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, sustained  by  its  delegated  and  limited  authority ; 
and  in  this  answer  we  have  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
truth  of  those  great  principles  for  which  the  State  has 
so  firmly  and  nobly  contended. 

"  Having  made  these  remarks,  the  great  question  is 
now  presented :— Has  Congress  the  right  to  pass  this 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  213 

bill  ?*  which  I  will  next  proceed  to  consider.  The  de- 
cision  of  this  question  involves  the  inquiry  into  the  pro- 
visions of  the  bill.  What  are  they  ?  It  puts  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  President  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  entire 
militia  of  the  country ;  it  enables  him,  at  his  pleasure, 
to  subject  every  man  in  the  United  States,  not  exempt 
from  militia  duty,  to  martial  law :  to  call  him  from  his 
ordinary  occupation  to  the  field,  and  under  the  penalty 
of  fine  and  imprisonment,  inflicted  by  a  court  martial, 
to  compel  him  to  embrue  his  hand  in  his  brother's  blood. 
There  is  no  limitation  on  the  power  of  the  sword,  and 
that  over  the  purse  is  equally  without  restraint ;  for, 
among  the  extraordinary  features  of  the  bill,  it  contains 
no  appropriation,  which,  under  existing  circumstances, 
is  tantamount  to  an  unlimited  appropriation.  The  Pres- 
ident may,  under  its  authority,  incur  any  expenditure, 
and  pledge  the  national  faith  to  meet  it.  He  may  create 
a  new  national  debt,  at  the  very  moment  of  the  termi- 
nation of  the  former — a  debt  of  millions,  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  labor  of  that  section  of  the  coun- 
try whose  dearest  constitutional  rights  this  bill  prostrates  ! 
Thus  exhibiting  the  extraordinary  spectacle,  that  the 
very  section  of  the  country  which  is  urging  this  mea- 
sure, and  carrying  the  sword  of  devastation  against  us, 
are,  at  the  same  time,  incurring  a  new  debt,  to  be 
paid  by  those  whose  rights  are  violated;  while  those 
who  violate  them  are  to  receive  the  benefits,  in  the 
shape  of  bounties  and  expenditures. 

"And  for  what  purpose  is  the  unlimited  control  of  the 
purse  and  of  the  sword  thus  placed  at  the  disposition  of 
*  The  Force  Bill. 


214  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  Executive?  To  make  war  against  one  of  the 
free  and  sovereign  members  of  this  confederation, 
which  the  bill  proposes  to  deal  with,  not  as  a  State,  but 
as  a  collection  of  banditti  or  outlaws.  Thus  exhibiting 
the  impious  spectacle  of  this  Government,  the  creature 
of  the  States,  making  war  against  the  power  to  which 
it  owes  its  existence. 

"  The  bill  violates  the  Constitution,  plainly  and  palpa- 
bly, in  many  of  its  provisions,  by  authorizing  the  Presi- 
dent, at  his  pleasure,  to  place  the  different  ports  of  this 
Union  on  an  equal  footing,  contrary  to  the  provision  of 
the  Constitution  which  declares  that  no  preference  shall 
be  given  to  one  port  over  another.  It  also  violates  the 
Constitution  by  authorizing  him,  at  his  discretion,  to  im- 
pose cash  duties  on  one  port  while  credit  is  allowed  in 
others  ;  by  enabling  the  President  to  regulate  commerce, 
a  power  vested  in  Congress  alone;  and  by  drawing 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States'  courts, 
powers  never  intended  to  be  conferred  on  them.  As 
great  as  these  objections  are,  they  become  insignificant 
in  the  provisions  of  a  bill  which,  by  a  single  blow,  by 
treating  the  States  as  a  mere  lawless  mass  of  individuals, 
prostrates  all  the  barriers  of  .the  Constitution.  I  will 
pass  over  the  minor  considerations,  and  proceed  directly 
to  the  great  point.  This  bill  proceeds  on  the  ground 
that  the  entire  sovereignty  of  this  country  belongs  to 
the  American  people,  as  forming  one  great  community, 
and  regards  the  States  as  mere  fractions  or  counties, 
and  not  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Union;  having  no 
more  right  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  Govern 
ment  than  a  county  has  to  resist  the  authority  of  a  State 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUlf.  215 

and  treating  such  resistance  as  the  lawless  acts  of  so 
many  individuals,  without  possessing  sovereignty  or  po- 
litical rights.  It  has  been  said  that  the  bill  declares  war 
against  South  Carolina.  No.  It  decrees  a  massacre  of 
her  citizens !  War  has  something  ennobling  about  it, 
and,  with  all  its  horrors,  brings  into  action  the  highest 
qualities,  intellectual  and  moral.  It  was,  perhaps,  in  the 
order  of  Providence  that  it  should  be  permitted  for  that 
very  purpose.  But  this  bill  declares  no  war,  except, 
indeed,  it  be  that  which  savages  wage  ;  a  war,  not 
against  the  community,  but  the  citizens  of  whom  that 
community  is  composed.  But  I  regard  it  as  worse  than 
savage  warfare — as  an  attempt  to  take  away  life  under 
color  of  law,  without  the  trial  by  jury,  or  any  other 
safeguard  which  the  Constitution  has  thrown  around  the 
life  of  the  citizen !  It  authorizes  the  President,  or  even 
his  deputies,  when  they  may  suppose  the  law  to  be  vio- 
lated, without  the  intervention  of  a  court  or  jury,  to 
kill  without  mercy  or  discrimination  ! 

"  It  has  been  said  by  the  Senator  from  Tennessee 
(Mr.  Grundy)  to  be  a  measure  of  peace !  Yes>  such 
peace  as  the  wolf  gives  to  the  lamb — the  kite  to  the 
dove  !  Such  peace  as  Russia  gives  to  Poland,  or  death 
to  its  victim !  A  peace,  by  extinguishing  the  political 
existence  of  the  State,  by  awing  her  into  an  .abandon- 
ment of  the  exercise  of  every  power  which  constitutes 
her  a  sovereign  community.  It  is  to  South  Carolina  a 
question  of  self-preservation  ;  and  I  proclaim  it,  that, 
should  this  bill  pass,  and  an  attempt  be  made  to  enforce 
it,  it  will  be  resisted,  at  every  hazard — even  that  of 
death  itself.  Death  is  not  the  greatest  calamity ;  there 


216  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

are  others  still  more  terrible  to  the  free  and  brave,  and 
among  them  may  be  placed  the  loss  of  liberty  and  honor. 
There  are  thousands  of  her  brave  sons  who,  if  need  be, 
are  prepared  cheerfully  to  lay  down  their  lives  in  de- 
fence of  the  State,  and  the  great  principles  of  constitu- 
tional liberty  for  which  she  is  contending.  God  forbid 
that  this  should  become  necessary!  It  never  can  be, 
unless  this  government  is  resolved  to  bring  the  question 
to  extremity,  when  her  gallant  sons  will  stand  prepared 
to  perform  the  last  duty — to  die  nobly." 

The  third  remarkable  era  in  Mr.  Calhoun's  political 
career  began  with  the  agitation  of  the  sub-treasury 
question,  in  1837.  The  general  suspension  of  the  banks 
occasioned  the  call  of  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  at 
the  opening  of  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  presented  a  mes- 
sage which  not  a  little  confounded  both  parties  in  both 
wings  of  the  Capitol.  On  learning  the  course  which  the 
President  intended  to  pursue,  Mr.  Calhoim  at  once  re- 
solved to  sustain  him.  In  defence  of  the  leading  finan- 
cial bill,  reported  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  country, 
he  made  three  speeches,  which  are  justly  ranked  among 
the  most  distinguished  of  his  life.  We  quote  three  short 
extracts,  which  present  an  agreeable  variety,  each  one 
containing  sentiments  worthy  of  the  gravest  considera- 
tion. In  the  first,  the  orator  alludes  to  the  influence  of 
banking  on  the  intellect : 

"  But  its  most  fatal  effects  originate  in  its  bearing  on 
the  moral  and  intellectual  development  of  the  community. 
The  great  principle  of  demand  and  supply  governs 
the  moral  and  intellectual  world  no  less  than  the  business 
and  commercial.  If  a  community  be  so  organized  as  to 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  217 

cause  a  demand  for  high  mental  attainments,  they  are 
sure  to  be  developed.  If  its  honors  and  rewards  are 
allotted  to  pursuits  that  require  their  development ;  by 
creating  a  demand  for  intelligence,  knowledge,  wisdom, 
justice,  firmness,  courage,  patriotism,  and  the  like,  they 
are  sure  to  be  produced.  But,  if  allotted  to  pursuits 
that  require  inferior  qualities,  the  higher  are  sure  to 
decay  and  perish.  I  object  to  the  banking  system,  be- 
cause it  allots  the  honors  and  rewards  of  the  commu- 
nity, in  a  very  undue  proportion,  to  a  pursuit  the  least 
of  all  others  favorable  to  the  development  of  the  higher 
mental  qualities,  intellectual  or  moral,  to  the  decay  of 
the  learned  professions,  and  the  more  noble  pursuits  of 
science,  literature,  philosophy,  and  statesmanship,  and 
the  great  and  more  useful  pursuits  of  business  and  in- 
dustry. With  the  vast  increase  of  its  profits  and  influ- 
ence, it  is  gradually  concentrating  in  itself  most  of  the 
prizes  of  life — wealth,  honor,  and  influence — to  the 
great  disparagement  and  degradation  of  all  the  liberal 
and  useful  and  generous  pursuits  of  society.  The 
rising  generation  cannot  but  feel  its  deadening  influence. 
The  youths  that  crowd  our  colleges,  and  behold  the 
road  to  honor  and  distinction  terminating  in  a  banking- 
house,  will  feel  the  spirit  of  emulation  decay  within 
them,  and  will  no  longer  be  pressed  forward  by  generous 
ardor  to  mount  up  the  rugged  steep  of  science,  as  the 
road  to  honor  and  distinction*  when,  perhaps  the  highest 
point  they  could  attain  in  what  was  once  the  most 
honorable  and  influential  of  all  the  learned  professions, 
would  be  the  place  of  attorney  to  a  bank." 
10 


218  LIVING    ORATORS    IN-  AMERICA. 

The  second  quotation  relates  to  the  question,  Is  the 
deposite  scheme  constitutional? 

"I  have  not  yet  exhausted  my  constitutional  objec- 
tions. I  rise  to  higher  and  to  broader,  applying  directly 
to  the  very  essence  of  this  substitute.  I  deny  your 
right  to  make  a  general  deposite  of  the  public  revenue 
in  a  bank.  More  than  half  of  the  errors  of  life  may  be 
traced  to  fallacies  originating  in  an  improper  use  of 
words;  and  among  not  the  least  mischievous  is  the  ap- 
plication of  this  word  to  bank  transactions,  in  a  sense 
wholly  different  from  its  original  meaning.  Originally 
it  meant  a  thing  placed  in  trust,  or  pledged  to  be  safely 
and  sacredly  kept  till  returned  to  the  depositor,  without 
being  used  by  the  depository,  while  in  his  possession. 
All  this  is  changed  when  applied  to  a  deposite  in  bank. 
Instead  of  returning  the  identical  thing,  the  bank  is  un- 
derstood to  be  bound  to  return  only  an  equal  value ;  and 
instead  of  not  having  the  use,  it  is  understood  to  have 
the  right  to  loan  it  out  on  interest,  or  to  dispose  of  it  as 
it  pleases,  with  the  .single  condition,  than  an  equal 
amount  be  returned,  when  demanded,  which  experience 
has  taught  is  not  always  done.  To  place,  then,  the  pub- 
lic money  in  deposite,  in  bank,  without  restriction,  is  to 
give  the  free  use  of  it,  and  to  allow  them  to  make  as 
much  as  they  can  out  of  it,  between  the  time  of  depo- 
-site  and  disbursement.  Have  we  such  a  right  ?  The 
money  belongs  to  the  people — collected  from  them  for 
specific  purposes — in  which  they  have  a  general  interest, 
and  for  that  only  ;  and  what  possible  right  can  we  have 
to  give  such  use  of  it  to  certain  selected  corpo- 
rations ?  I  ask  for  the  provision  of  the  Constitution 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  219 

that  authorizes  it.  I  ask,  if  we  could  grant  the  use,  for 
similar  purposes,  to  private  associations  or  individuals  ? 
Or  if  not  to  them,  to  individual  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment i  for  instance,  to  the  four  principal  receivers  under 
this  bill,  should  it  pass  ?  And  if  this  cannot  be  done, 
that  the  distinction  be  pointed  out." 

In  what  follows,  Mr.  Calhoun  explains  the  meaning  of 
sub-treasury  : 

"  I  regard  this  measure,  which  has  been  so  much  de 
nounced,  as  very  little  more  than  an  attempt  to  carry 
out  the  provisions  of  the  joint  resolution  of  1816,  and 
the  deposite  act  of  1836.  The  former  provides  that  no 
notes  but  those  of  specie  paying  banks  shall  be  received 
in  the  dues  of  the  Government ;  and  the  latter,  that 
such  banks  only  shall  be  the  depositories  of  the  public 
revenues  and  fiscal  agents  of  the  Government ;  but  it  is 
omitted  to  make  provisions  for  the  contingency  of  a  gen- 
eral suspension  of  specie  payments,  such  as  is  the  present. 
It  followed,  accordingly,  on  the  suspension  in  May  last, 
which  totally  separated  the  Government  and  the  banks, 
that  the  revenues  were  thrown  into  the  hands  of  the 
Executive,  where  they  have  since  remained  under  its 
exclusive  control,  without  any  legal  provision  for  their 
safe-keeping.  The  object  of  this  bill  is  to  supply  this 
omission  ;  to  take  the  public  money  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  Executive,  and  place  it  under  the  custody  of  the 
laws,  and  to  prevent  the  renewal  of  a  connection  which . 
has  proved  so  unfortunate  to  both  the  Government  and 
the  banks.  But  it  is  this  measure,  originating  in  an  exi- 
gency caused  by  our  own  acts,  and  that  seeks  to  make 
the  most  of  a  change  affected  by  the  operation  of  law, 


220  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

instead  of  attempting  to  innovate,  or  to  make  another 
experiment,  as  has  been  erroneously  represented,  which 
has  been  denounced  under  the  name  of  the  Sub-Trea- 
sury with  such  unexampled  bitterness." 

Mr.  Walsh,  writing  from  Paris,  remarked  that  Mr. 
Calhoun's  speech  on  the  Ashburton  treaty  was  regarded 
by  some  of  the  best  French  critics,  as  one  of  the  most 
classical  and  cogent  arguments  of  modern  times.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  his  Oregon  speech,  and  other  great 
efforts  of  still  more  recent  date.  He  is  to-day  full  of 
vivacious  intellect,  force  of  logic,  and  fervor  of  patriot- 
'sm,  as  in  1814  when  he  battled  undismayed  against 
Great  Britain.  The  following  extract  vividly  portrays 
his  own  indomitable  character,  and  with  it  we  must  close 
our  list  of  examples  : 

"  This  country  is  left  alone  to  support  the  rights  of 
neutrals.  Perilous  is  the  condition,  and  arduous 
the  task.  We  are  not  intimidated.  We  stand  op- 
posed to  'British  usurpation,  and  by  our  spirit  and 
efforts,  have  done  all  in  our  power  to  save  the  last 
vestiges  of  neutral  rights.  Yes,  our  embargoes,  non- 
intercourse,  non-importation,  and  finally,  war,  are 
all  manly  exertions  to  preserve  the  rights  of  this  and 
other  nations  from  the  deadly  grasp  of  British  maritime 
policy.  But  (say  our  opponents)  these  efforts  are  lost 
and  our  condition  hopeless.  If  so,  it  only  remains  for 
us  to  assume  the  garb  of  our  condition.  We  must  sub- 
mit, humbly  submit,  crave  pardon,  and  hug  our  chains. 
It  is  not  wise  to  provoke  where  we  cannot  resist.  But 
first  let  us  be  well  assured  of  the  hopelessness  of  our 
state  before  we  sink  into  submission.  On  whjt  do  our 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  221 

opponents  rest  their  despondent  and  slavish  belief?  On 
the  recent  events  in  Europe  ?  1  admit  they  are  great, 
tmd  well  calculated  to  impose  on  the  imagination.  Our 
enemy  never  presented  a  more  imposing  exterior.  His 
fortune  is  at  the  flood.  But  I  am  admonished  by  uni- 
versal experience,  that  such  prosperity  is  the  most  pre- 
carious of  human  conditions.  From  the  flood,  the  tide 
dates  its  ebb.  From  the  meridian  the  son  commences 
his  decline.  Depend  upon  it,  there  is  more  of  sound 
philosophy  than  of  fiction  in  the  fickleness  which 
poets  attribute  to  fortune.  Prosperity  has  its  weak- 
ness,, adversity  its  strength.  In  many  respects  our 
enemy  has  lost  by  those  very  changes  which  seem  so 
very  much  in  his  favor.  He  can  no  more  Claim  to  be 
struggling  for  existence;  no  more  to  be  fighting  the 
battles  of  the  world  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  man- 
kind. The  magic  cry  of  'French  influence'  is  lost.  In 
this  very  hall  we  are  not  strangers  to  that  sound.  Here, 
even  here,  the  cry  of  '  French  influence,'  that  baseless 
fiction,  that  phantom  of  faction  now  banished,  often  re- 
sounded. I  rejoice  that  the  spell  is  broken  by  which  it 
was  attempted  to  bind  the  spirit  of  this  youthful  nation. 
The  minority  can  no  longer  act  under  cover,  but  must 
come  out  and  defend  their  opposition  on  its  own  intrin- 
sic merits.  Our  example  can  scarcely  fail  to  produce 
its  effects  on  other  nations  interested  in  the  maintenance 
of  maritime  rights.  But  if,  unfortunately,  we  should 
be  left  alone  to  maintain  the  contest,  and  if,  which  may 
God  forbid,  necessity  should  compel  us  to  yield  for  the 
present,  yet  our  generous  efforts  will  not  have  been  lost. 
A  mode  of  thinking  and  a  tone  of  sentiment  have  gone 


222  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

abroad  which  must  stimulate  to  future  and  more  success- 
ful  struggles.  What  could  not  be  affected  with  eight 
millions  of  people  will  be  done  with  twenty.  The  greai 
cause  will  never  be  yielded ;  no,  never,  never !  Sir,  1 
hear  the  future  audibly  announced  in  the  past — in  the 
splendid  victories  over  the  Guerriere,  Java,  and  Mace- 
donian. We,  and  all  nations,  by  these  victories,  are 
taught  a  lesson  never  to  be  forgotten.  Opinion  is  power. 
The  charm  of  British  naval  invincibility  is  gone." 

The  foregoing  biographical  sketch,  followed  by  copi- 
ous and  diversified  specimens  of  his  premeditated  as 
well  as  extemporaneous  compositions,  will  have  prepared 
the  way  for  a  more  specific  examination  into  the  char- 
acter of  Mr.  Calhoun's  eloquence.  Clearness,  direct- 
ness, and  energy,  we  consider  its  three  most  marked 
characteristics. 

In  the  first  place,  note  the  remarkable  clearness  of 
Mr.  Calhoun's  mind.  We  have  already  traced  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  commencement  of  that  noble 
career  in  which  he  has  signalized  himself  as  the  most 
philosophical  orator  in  America.  By  nature  and  pro- 
tracted culture  he  is  a  consummate  metaphysician.  By 
this  we  do  riot  mean  that  he  is  accustomed  to  reason 
himself  into  frigid  reveries  and  Platonic  dreams  concern- 
ing some  ideal  Atlantis  or  impossible-  Utopia.  Political 
and  psychological  speculations  with  him  are  not  hard, 
dry  dogmas,  but  living  realities  actualized  and  verified 
by  the  profound  earnestness  of  the  speaker.  His 
argument  is  not  the  "thwarted  growth  of  starveling 
labor  and  dry  sterility ;"  but  with  spontaneous  force, 
and  unaffected  simplicity,  he  reveals  the  inward  gran- 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  223 

deur  of  a  vivid  and  energetic  mind.  It  is  not  inap- 
propriate to  apply  to  his  speeches  what  Hazlitt  has  said 
of  the  works  left  us-  by  the  greatest  master  of  graphic 
aK.  "Not  to  speak  it  profanely^  they  are  a  sort  of  reve- 
lation of  the  subjects  of  which  they  treat ;  there  is  an 
ease  and  freedom  of  manner  about  them  which  brings 
preternatural  characters  and  situations  home  to  us  with 
the  familiarity  of  common  every-day  occurrences;  but 
while  the  figures  fill,  raise  and  satisfy  the  mind,  they 
seem  to  have  cost  the  painter  nothing.  They  are  mere 
intellectual,  or  rather  visible  abstractions  of  truth  and 
nature.  Everywhere  else  we  see  the  means ;  here  we 
arrive  at  the  end  apparently  without  any  means.  There 
is  a  spirit  at  work  in  the  divine  creation  before  us." 

Mr.  Calhoun  flaunts  in  no  gaudy  rhetorical  robes  of 
scarlet  and  gold,  but  comes  into  the  forum  clothed  in 
the  simplest  garb,  with  firm  hands  grasping  the  reins  of 
fancy,  and  intent  only  on  giving  a  reason  for  the  faith 
that  is  in  him.  The  embellishment  he  sparingly  employs 
never  obscures  or  encumbers  that  manly  strength  and 
luminous  energy,  which  constitute  the  prominent  fea- 
tures of  his  style.  His  language  is  exceedingly  choice 
and  most  fit  to  be  used  by  all  who  think  while  speaking. 
In  characterizing  Mr.  Calhoun  as  the  metaphysician 
among  American  orators,  we  design  to  say  that  he  is 
full  of  clear-spirited  and  substantial  significance,  and 
not  that  his  intellect  is  "woven  of  pure  thought  and  the 
airy  films  of  the  imagination — Arachne's  web  not  finer !" 
In  him  that  mental  acutewess  which  is  skillful  in  taking 
up  the  points  of  solid  atoms,  coalesces  with  a  subtlety 
equally  sensitive-  in  feeling  the  delicate  atmosphere  of 


224  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

truth.  There  are  many  pseudo  philosophers  who  are 
adroit  only  in  "defining  night  by  darkness,  tteath  by 
dust,"  the  type  of  whose  debating  power  could  be  found 
in  nothing  but  "  what  the  shadow  of  the  wind  might  be." 
Do  the  best  ypu  can  to  trace  their  flight  or  comprehend 
their  meaning,  and  after  all  you  feel  that  the  attempt  is 
as  fruitless  as  if  you  should  "  hunt  half  a  day  for  a  for- 
gotten dream." 

Not  so  with  Mr.  Calhoun.  His  is  incontestably 
superior  to  most  of  his  contemporaries  in  profound  and 
valuable  philosophical  accomplishments.  Evidently  he 
has  great  fondness  for  speculations  the  most  abstract, 
the  fruits  of  which  he  can  with  uncommon  facility 
render  directly  applicable  to  common  pursuits ;  he  loves 
to  soar  into  realms  not  often  explored  by  metaphysical 
politicians,  but  at  the  same  time  is  expert  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duties  the  most  trite.  While  he  has  an  eye 
to  perceive,  and  a  hand  to  grasp,  shadowy  abstractions, 
"pure  in  the  last  recesses  of  the  mind,"  he  is  an  adept  in 
all  sorts  of  practical  affairs,  one  whom  the  most  literal 
proser  can  hardly  excel.  His  piercing  intellect  is  often 
illuminated  by  the  brightest  imagination,  but  this  latter 
faculty  ever  contents  itself  with  the  office  of  minister- 
ing only  to  reason.  From  this  relation  of  the  two 
grand  powers  of  his  mind,  it  has  resulted,  that  his  elo- 
quence", illustrated  by  axioms  more  than  adorned  by 
imagery,  holds  the  strongest  supremacy  over  those  who 
are  best  qualified  to  reflect.  The  thinking  power,  promi- 
nent in  his  speeches,  together  with  the  earnest  spirit  per- 
vading them,  form  their  distinctive  characteristics,  and 
stamp  their  superior  worth.  Their  author  seems  to 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN. 


have  learned  from  Albericus,  that  "to  the  knowledge  of 
history,  must  be  added  that  part  of  philosophy  which 
treats  of  morals  and  politics ;  for  this  is  the  soul  of 
history,  which  explains  the  causes  of  the  actions  and 
sayings  of  men,  and  of  the  events  which  befall  them." 
At  any  rate,  more  than  any  other  politician  of  the  day, 
he  has  learned  to  explore, 

"  The  bearings  of  men's  duties  and  desires  ; 
To  note  the  nature  and  the  laws  of  mind  ; 
To  balance  good  with  evil ;  and  compare 
The  nature  and  necessity  of  each." 

In  the  second  place,  look  at  the  directness  so  charac- 
teristic of  Mr.  Calhoun's  style.  We  have  before  said 
that  he  is  highly  philosophical,  but  not  subject  to  meta- 
physical paroxysms.  Habitually  dealing  in  very  precise 
discrimination,  no  man  more  than  he,  is  free  from  schol- 
astic barbarism.  The  remark  made  by  Dugald  Stewart 
on  Barrow  is  not  less  true  of  Calhoun.  "  As  a  writer, 
he  is  equally  distinguished  by  the  redundancy  of  his 
matter,  and  by  the  pregnant  brevity  of  his  expression; 
but  what  more  peculiarly  characterizes  his  manner,  is 
a  certain  air  of  powerful  and  of  conscious  facility  in  the 
execution  of  whatever  he  undertakes."  fn  this  respect 
our  American  metaphysician  differs  widely  from. those 
learned  Thebans  who  employ  much  science  to  inform 
the  world,  "  that  ships  have  anchors,  and  that  seas  are 
green." 

Mr.  Calhoun  is  one  of  those  men  whom  Providence 

sends  upon  earth  at  remote  intervals,  to  do  the   chief 

thinking  of  their  age,  to  sift  the  particles  of  truth  from  the 

heap   of  rubbish   under  which   they   have   long   been 

10* 


226  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

buried,  fuse  them  into  practical  shape,  and  give  them 
universal  currency.  Sparing  of  words,  but  teeming 
•with  ideas,  they  coin  great  principles  in  the  precious 
mintage  of  their  mind,  and  hurl  them  into  profuse  and 
popular  circulation.  Their  thought  and  execution  are 
as  intimately  allied  and  effective,  as  the  etherial  flash 
\vhichprecedesthethunder.  The  words  of  such  men 
contain  the  life  or  death  of  many  generations  ;  and  they 
were  born  to  act  in  crises  that  powerfully  affect  the  en- 
tire future  of  the  human  race.  They  seem  to  contain 
the  master  thought  of  all,  to  mould  and  to  express  it. 
If  they  are  truly  patriotic,  their  service  will  be  of  inesti- 
mable value,  for  they  will  say,  with  William  Tell,  as  he 
drew  the  arrow  designed  to  pierce  the  fatal  apple  from 
the  head  of  his  boy  :  "Perish  my  name  and  my  memory, 
provided  my  country  may  be  free !" 

Feeling  from  his  youth  that  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  moral  and  political  philosophy  are  realities  of 
the  greatest  importance,  he  never  has-  fallen  dnto  the 
indolent  habit  pf  declaiming  about  them,  as  if  they  were 
nonentities,  incapable  of  being  either  seen  or  under- 
stood. These  matters  he  has  examined  critically  and 
analytically  for  metaphysical  purposes,  but  he  has  drawn 
the  scalpel  through  living  subjects  rather  than  dead. 
The  beauty,  health,  freshness,  and  animation  of  the 
human  frame,  have  departed  ere  it  is  submitted  to  the 
knife  of  the  anatomist,  and  it  is  in  something  of  the 
same  condition  that  the  human  mind  is  considered  by 
most  philosophers.  But  the  case  is  different  with  Mr. 
Calhoun.  He  has  ever  studied  mankind  in  their  vital 
energies  and  natural  promptings,  and  has  thus  learned 


JOftN    C.    CALHOUN.  227 

skillfully  to  touch  the  springs  of  their  action  and  control 
its  use.  Compelled  by  necessity  and  disposition  to 
speak  in  terms  intelligible  and  agreeable  to  hearers  of 
every  grade,  he  has  happily  learned  both  to  adapt  the 
object  of  his  inquiries,  and  his  mode  of  reasoning,  to 
the  general  understanding  and  sentiments  of  his  coun- 
trymen. As  Erasmus  said  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  "  His 
eloquent  tongue  so  well  seconds  his  fertile  invention, 
that  no  one  speaks  better  when  suddenly  called  forth. 
His  attention  never  languishes,  his  mind  is  always  before 
his  words ;  his  memory  has  all  its  stock  so  turned  into 
ready  money,  that  without  hesitation  or  delay  it  supplies 
whatever  the  occasion  may  require." 

The  test  of  true  oratorical  merit  lies  in  thought,  and 
not  in  words.  Take  away  language  from  Homer,  and 
however  much  you  have  removed,  the  epic  poet  is  left 
unimpaired ;  but  make  the  same  draft  upon  Virgil, 
strip  him  of  the-  majesty,  glow,  and  fascination  of  his 
diction,  and  the  merit  that  remains  will  be  nearly  re- 
duced to  what  he  borrowed  from  Homer's  plan.  It  is 
the  same  with  many  speeches  which  abound  in  gor- 
geous passages,  captivating  images,  pathos,  fancy,  fervid 
invective,  and  stinging  sarcasm,  but  which  are  little  im- 
bued with  the  intense  energy  of  substantial  argument, 
"  An  indignant  fiery  purity"  pervades  Calhoun's  phrase- 
ology, like  heat  and  resistance-  in  glowing  steel.  Ordi- 
nary composition  called  metaphysical  by  virtue  of  a 
multitude  of  artificial  technicalities,  resembles  an  incon- 
gruous assemblage  of  obsolete  dilapidations,  rather  than 
a  natural  distribution  of  practical  materials.  But  the 
matter  and  spirit  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  eloquence  are  not 


228  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

embodied  in  hyperbole,  nor  violence,  nor  frivolity,  nor 
pedantry,  but  come  forth  simply  in  clear,  forcible,  la- 
conic truth.  It  is  the  incarnation  and  expression  of 
mind,  and  therefore  transcends  in  worth  the  flippant 
nothings  of  ordinary  speakers,  as  the  factitious  lustre  of 
the  Aphrodite  is  dull  compared  with  the  brow  of 
Raphael's  Madonna,  and  the  fantastic  carving  of  a  stone 
mason  is  stupid  beyond  endurance  beside  the  divine 
form  of  the  Greek  god. 

The  accuracy  and  depth  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  knowledge 
are  rendered  practically  evident  by  a  rapid  but  distinct 
and  fearless  expression.  Having  fixed  his  eye  steadily  on 
the  goal  he  would  attain,  he  advances  towards  it  with  a 
speed  and  directness  which  it  requires  the  utmost  care 
to  follow.  He  requires  the  undivided  attention  of  the 
reader  or  listener,  and  is  sure  to  reward  it.  Awed  and 
penetrated  by  his  power,  we  are  compelled  to  acknow- 
ledge that  true  argumentation  is  no  mere  skirmishing  or 
idle  sport,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  deeply  to  feel  and 
earnestly  to  think. 

"  While  thought  is  standing  thick  upon  the  brain 
As  dew  upon  the  brow — for  thought  is  brain  sweat  j 
And  gathering  quick  and  dark,  like  storms  in  summer, 
Until  convulsed,  condensed,  in  lightning  sport, 
It  plays  upon  the  heavens  of  the  mind, — 
Opens  the  hemisphered  abysses  here, 
And  we  become  revealers  to  ourselves." 

We  have  spoken  of  the  mental  clearness  and  moial 
directness  so  strongly  marked  in  the  eloquence  of  Mr. 
Calhoun.  Let  us  now,  in  the  third  place,  notice  more 
particularly  his  logical  force. 


JOHN    C.    OALHOUN.  229 

Lord  Bacon,  laying  down  the  theory  of  the  advance- 
ment of  fortune,  in  a  singular  passage,  directs — "  that 
there  be  not  anything  in  being  or  action  which  should  not 
be  drawn  and  collected  into  contemplation  and  doctrine." 
Our  distinguished  countryman  seems  ever  to  have  acted 
on  this  principle,  since  every  day  of  his  mature  life  has 
been  devoted  to  the  diligent  acquisition  of  knowledge 
by  study  and  observation  the  most  untiring  and  diversi- 
fied. He  seems  never  to  have  met  a  man,  witnessed  an 
incident,  or  mingled  in  a  scene,  without  in  some  way 
augmenting  his  stores  of  wisdom  thereby.  His  erudi- 
tion, however,  has  resulted  more  from  solitary  medita- 
tion, than  from  social  converse,  scientific  research,  or 
literary  recreation. 

Descartes,  writing  to  a  friend,  said,  "  I  study  here  in 
tensely  without  a  book  ;"  and  it  was  the  well-known 
saying  of  Hobbes,  "  that  if  he  had  read  as  much  as 
others,  he  might  have  been  as  ignorant."  But  such 
unreading  philosophers,  who  avoid  books,  lest  they  might 
stand  between  them  and  the  natural  development  of 
inherent  force,  do  not  abound  in  our  day.  Perhaps  the 
best  example  extant  among  our  public  men  is  now  under 
consideration,  and  yet  he,  we  repeat,  is  no  mere  idealist. 
He  knows  very  well  that  however  high  and  refined  the 
orator's  head  may  be,  his  feet  must  rest  firmly  on  com- 
mon earth,  with  all  its  gross  imperfections,  if  he  wishes 
to  excite  popular  sympathies,  and  command  belief.  He 
is  habitually  contemplative,  but  values  time  too  highly 
to  sit  with  the  long  and  "passionful  unwinking  gaze, 
which  beats  itself  at  last,  and  sees  air  only."  His  is  no 
mere  mirage  of  mind,  but  the  clearest  vision  on  the 


230  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

most  solid  ground.  The  busy  idlers  who  waste  life  in 
doating  upon  "  dreams  and  dim  atomic  truths,"  as  little 
resemble  him  in  temperament  and  taste,  as  it  is  possible 
to  conceive.  The  effects  he  designs  to  produce,  are  the 
sensations  of  power  and  the  delights  of  conviction.  To 
attain  this  end,  he  wastes  nothing, — not  one  moment  or 
topic  could  be  spared  without  irreparable  loss, — and  the 
hearer  feels  that  the  process  has  been  timed  and  con- 
summated in  a  manner  as  bold  as  it  has  been  perse- 
vering. 

Genius  we  hold  to  be  that  power  which  enlarges  the 
circle  of  human  knowledge,  discovers  new  materials,  and 
gives  the  air  of  novelty  to  what  is  already  known ;  while 
talent  arranges,  elaborates,  and  renders  practical  the 
discoveries  of  genius.  Thus  defined,  we  think  that  Mr. 
Calhoun  is  largely  endowed  with  both  these  attributes. 
The  talents  which  succeeded  the  genius  of  the  ancients, 
applied  their  potency  and  polish  to  instruct  and  adorn 
the  world  by  diffusing  the  refinements  of  taste,  grace, 
and  sentiment,  embodied  in  masculine  beauty,  mental 
grandeur  and  eloquent  expression.  Such  is  our  states- 
man philosopher,  full  of  metaphysical  subtlety  and  moral 
though tfulness.  Neither  before  nor  since  his  entrance 
into  the  American  Senate,  has  there  been  such  a  union 
of  the  orator  and  sage.  His  acquired  talents  are  rich 
and  multifarious,  and  these  are  mighty  auxiliaries  to  his 
native  capacity,  instead  of  being  impediments ;  in  all 
their .  wealthy  profusion,  there  is  "  naught  cumbrous 
more  than  new  down  to  a  wing."  Profuse  divisions 
diminish,  and  all  superfluous  expletives  impair,  the  sim- 
plicity and  clearness  of  natural  expression.  Orators 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  231 

dealing  largely  in  such  pedantic  artificialness  resemble 
those  artists,  who  have  wasted  existence  in  abstract 
theories  on  proportion,  who  have  measured  the  antique 
in  all  its  forms  and  characters,  compared  it  learnedly 
with  nature,  and  mixed  up  dubious  amalgams  of  both, 
yet  never  made  one  figure  stand  or  move.  The  specific 
gravity  of  such  dullness  is  awful,  and  will  cause  its  pos- 
sessor to  "drop  down  oblivion  like  a  pebble  in  a  pit." 

The  form  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  eloquence  is  circumscribed 
by  premeditated  lines,  characterized  by  clear,  practical 
sense,  and  substantiated  by  a  genial  enthusiasm,  which 
is  to  the  body  of  his  argument,  what  the  breath  of  the 
Almighty  was  to  the  yet  unvitalized  Adam.  Taste  and 
elocution  not  only  recommend  his  speaking  to  the  ear 
and  eye,  but  the  perspicuity  of  his  thought,  impressed 
with  a  lofty  moral  import,  causes  him  to  be  equally  in- 
telligible and  captivating  to  both  head  and  heart.  He 
does  not  "  pit  the  brain  against  the  bosom,  and  plead 
wit  before  wisdom,"  but  combining  the  spontaneous 
and  forcible  action  of  all  his  powers,  he  touches  the 
sensibilities  and  sways  the  judgments  of  all.  His 
mighty  mind,  when  aroused  in  debate,  is  quick  with  the 
thunder  thought  and  lightning  will,  rendering  it  as  im- 
possible for  ordinary  antagonists  to  avert  or  resist  his 
influence,  as  for  an  oak  to  clasp  in  ifs  arms  the  tempest 
that  beats  upon  it. 

The  subjoined  sketch  was  drawn  in  the  .winter  of 
1837-8,  by  a  political  and  personal  friend,  and  is  valua- 
ble for  its  graphic  truth": 

"  Mr.  Calhoun  has  evidently  taken  Demosthenes  for 
his  model  as-  a  speaker—or  rather,  I  suppose,  he  has 


232  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

studied,  while  young,  his  orations  with  great  admiration, 
until  they  produced  a  decided  impression  upon  his  mind. 
His  recent  speech  in  defence  of  himself  against  the 
attacks  of  Mr.  Clay,  is  precisely  on  the  plan  of  the  fa- 
mous oration  De  Corona,  delivered  by  the  great  Athe- 
nian, in  vindication  of  himself  from  the  elaborate  and 
artful  attacks  of  ^Eschines.  While  the  one  says : 
1  Athenians!  to -you  I  appeal,  my  judges  and  my  wit- 
nesses !'— the  other  says  :  '  In  proof  of  this,  I  appeal  to 
you,  Senators,  my  witnesses  and  my  judges  on  this  oc- 
casion !'  JEschines  accused  Demosthenes  of  having 
received  a  bribe  from  Philip,  and  the  latter  retorted  by 
saying  that  the  other  had  accused  him  of  doing  what  he 
himself  had  notoriously  done.  Mr.  Clay  says  that  Mr. 
Calhoun  had  gone  over,  and  he  left  it  to  time  to  disclose 
his  motives.  Mr.  Calhoun  retorts :  '  Leave  it  to  time 
to  disclose  my  motives  for  going  over !  I,  who  have 
changed  no  opinion,  abandoned  no  principle,  and  de- 
serted no  party — I,  who  have  stood  still  and  maintained 
my  ground  against  every  difficulty,  to  be  told  that  it  is 
left  to  time  to  disclose  my  motive !  The  imputation 
sinks  to  the  earth  with  the  groundless  charge  on  which 
it  rests.  I  stamp  rt  down  in  the  dust.  I  pick  up  the 
dart  which  fell  harmless  at  my  feet.  I  hurl  it  back 
What  the  Senator  charges  on  me  unjustly,  he  has  ac- 
tually done.  He  went  over  on  a  memorable  occasion  and 
did  not  leave  it  to  time  to  disclose  his  motive.'  In  the 
conception  and  arrangement  of  the  whole  speech,  in 
fact,  there  is  a  remarkable  similarity  to  the  speech  of 
the  great  Athenian.  And  where  could  any  man  find  a 
nobler  model  ?  For  withering  sarcasm — burning  invec- 


JOHN    C.    (MLHOUN.  233 

live — lofty  declamation — for  all  that  is  spirit-stirring 
and  glorious  in  eloquence,  there  is  not  on  record,  in  any 
language,  as  noble  and  perfect  a  specimen  as  this  ora- 
tion for  the  crown. 

"  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  the  simplicity  and  brevity  of  his 
sentences,  throughout  all  his  speeches,  shows  the  model 
he  has  studied.  In  fact,  his  whole  character  and  life 
are  eminently  Greek.  His  striking  and  grand  concep- 
tions— with  his  unassuming  and  plain  manners — his 
calm  dignity  and  composure — his.  sternness  and  exem- 
plary purity  in  private  and  public  life,  all  show  that  he 
has  bathed  deep  in  the  fountains  of  antiquity. 

"In  one  faculty  of  the  mind  he  surpasses  any  public 
man  of  the  age,  and  that  is  in  analysis.  His  power  to 
examine  a  complex  idea,  and  exhibit  to  you  the  simple 
ideas  of  which  it  is  composed,  is  wonderful.  Hence  it 
is  that  he  generalizes  with  such  great  rapidity,  that  ordi- 
nary minds  suppose,  at  first,  he  is  theoretical ;  whereas, 
he  has  only  reached  a  point  at  a  single  bound,  to  which 
it  would  require  long  hours  of  sober  reflection  for  them 
to  attain.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  he  jumps  at 
his  conclusions  without  due  care  and  consideration; 
No  man  examines  with  more  care,  or  with  more  intense 
labor,  every  question  upon  which  his  mind  is  called 'to 
act.  The  difference  between  him  and  others  is,  that  he 
thinks  constantly,  with  little  or  no  relaxation.  H«nce 
the  restless  activity  and  energy  of  his  mind  always 
place  him  far  in  advance  of  those  around  him.  He  has 
reached  the  summit,  while  they  have  just  commenced 
to  ascend,  and  cannot  readily  discover  the  path  which 
has  lead  him  to  his  lofty  and  extensive  view. 


231  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

"Mr.  Calhoun  evidently  has  studied  our  system  of 
government  very  profoundly  and  philosophically,  on  the 
leading  ideas  of  the  school  of  Jefferson.  His  great 
speech  in  reply  to  Mr.  Webster,  on  the  federative  prin- 
ciple of  the  Constitution,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States,  is  one  of  the  most  profound  and  finished  com- 
mentaries upon  that  noble  instrument  and  its  formation, 
that  has  ever  been  produced  by  the  genius  of  man.  On 
that  remarkable  occasion,  he  simplified  the  points  of 
controversy  with  his  distinguished  antagonist  to  such  a 
degree,  that  he  compelled  him  to  deny  that  our  system 
of  government  was  a  constitutional  compact ;  and 
finally  forced  him  to  the  position,  that  the  Government 
itself  had  substantive  and  independent  rights,  as  if  the 
Government  was  not  made  by  the  Constitution,  and  had 
no  existence,  in  a  single  attribute  without  it.  This  de- 
bate was  managed  with  great  power  and  ability  on  both 
sides.  Both  speakers  saw  that  the  whole  argument 
turned  upon  the  point  whether  the  Constitution  was  a 
compact  or .  not.  If  it  was  admitted,  the  wit  of  man 
could  not  avoid  the  conclusion,  that  each  party  to  the 
compact  must  of  necessity  judge  of  its  provisions  and 
infractions,  or  surrender  up  their  original  character  as 
sovereign  contracting  parties,  to  a  government  with 
power  to  define  its  own  limitations,  and,  of  necessity,  to 
make  and  unmake  the  compact  at  the  will  and  pleasure 
of  those  who  might  chance  to  give  it  impulse  and  vital- 
ity. This  subject  eminently  suited  Mr.  Calhoun's  mind 
and  habits  of  thought,  and  he  consequently  exhibited  a 
power  of  argument — a  distinctness  of  analysis — and  a 
luminous  investigation  of  the  attributes  and  nature  ol 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  235 

government — which  will  stand  a  monument  to  his  fame, 
as  long  as  the  American  eagle  shall  present  to  the  world 
that  bright  constellation  of  independent  States  which 
now  glitter  and  blaze  around  its  brow.  No  human 
being  can  read  that  speech  without  feeling  that  it  con- 
tains the  same  doctrines  which  were  proclaimed  in  the 
Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions  of  '98,  and  in  the 
immortal  report  of  Mr.  Madison,  around  which  the 
Republican  party  rallied  with  the  devotion  of  those  who 
felt  the  liberties  of  their  country  to  be  involved. 

"  As  a  public  speaker  and  debater,  Mr.  Calhoun  is 
energetic  and  impressive  to  the  highest  degree.  With- 
out having  much  of  the  action  of  an  orator,  yet  his 
compressed  lip — his  erect  and  stern  attitudes — his  iron 
countenance,  compressed  lip,  and  flashing  eye — all  make 
him,  at  times,  eloquent  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word.  No 
man  can  hear  him  without  feeling.  His  power  is  in 
clear  analysis — suppressed  passion,  and  lofty  earnest- 
ness. As  to  the  great  questions  connected  with  the 
currency  of  the  present  day,  it  is  vain  and  idle  to  con- 
tend with  him.  It  has  been  the  subject  of  his  daily 
thoughts  for  more  than  twenty  years.  He  is  before  his 
age,  but  he  will  triumph,  and  posterity  will  be  aston- 
ished at  the  profoundness  and  the  sagacity  of  his  views. 
Many  suppose  that  he  has  an  absorbing  ambition  ;  but 
this  is  a  hiistake,  and  it  arises  from  the  natural  activity  of 
his  mind  on  all  questions  of  much  interest,  and  his  con- 
stant and  ardent  patriotism.  Devotion  to  the  honor  and 
iberties  of  his  country  is  his  consuming  passion,  and  his 
ardent  pursuit  of  what  he  conceives  to  be  her  interests 
is  mistaken  by  -the  superficial  observer  for  overweening 


236  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ambition.  Ambition  he  has,  but  it  is  high  and  noble, 
and  like  the  Roman's,  identified  with  love  for  Rome. 
His  nullification,  so  much  misunderstood  and  misrepre- 
sented, was  with  him  a  pure  and  enthusiastic  devotion 
to  the  true  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  permanent 
interest  of  the  whole  Union,  according  to  his  under- 
standing of  them.  His  greatest  weakness,  if  weakness 
it  can  be  called,  is  his  free  and  unreserved  confidence 
in  those  who  are  not  his  friends.  This  arises  from  the 
natural  integrity  and  unsuspecting  character  of  his  heart. 
Another  weakness,  perhaps,  is,  that  he  talks  too  much, 
forgetting  that  there  is  often  dignity  and  power  in  im- 
pressive silence,  particularly  after  a  man  has  acquired 
fame.  This  arises,  however,  from  the  simplicity  of 
character  and  great  love  of  truth,  which  makes  him 
eager  to  present  her  to  others,  that  they  may  receive  and 
love  her,  too,  with  veneration  equal  to  his  own." 

To  the  above,  we  may  add  a  few  remarks  respecting 
Mr.  Calhoun's  person  and  character. 

Strangers,  judging  only  by  his  external  appearance, 
are  liable  to  form  very  unjust  conceptions  of  this  extra- 
ordinary man.  His  countenance,  so  marked  by  deci- 
sion and  firmness ;  and  his  eyes,  so  large,  dark,  brilliant, 
and  penetrating :  leave  no  doubt  for  a  moment  of  a  high 
order  of  intellect.  Still,  the  contemplator  feels  like 
Adam,  who,  when  perceiving  Michael,  chief  of  the  hea- 
venly warriors,  approaching  from  afar,  says  to  Eve  : 

"Majesty 

Invests  his  coming ;  yet  not  terrible 
That  I  should  fear,  not  sociably  mild 
As  Raphael."' 


JOHN    C.    CALftOUN.  237 

There  is  at  first  a  mixed  emotion  of  respect  and  fear, 
as  if  the  individual  in  question  is  indeed  to  be  revered 
for  his  intellectual  capacity,  but  not  to  be  esteemed  for 
his  social  worth.  How  completely  does  actual  acquaint- 
ance correct  such  a  falsity  of  view  !  Perhaps  there  is 
not  a  man  iji  the  world  whose  colloquial  fascination  and 
endearing  social  qualities  exceed  those  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 
It  is  true,  that  while  engaged  in  public  functions,  he 
appears  as  one  in  whom  "the  intellectual  life  is  quick  in 
all  its  parts,"  and  his  iron  features  repel  all  thoughts  of 
fond  and  childish  glee.  But  in  private,  with  the  harness 
of  forensic  warfare  laid  aside,  while  he  still  maintains 
the  dignity  of  true  greatness,  no  one  is  more  easy  of 
access,  more  cordial  and  kind. 

The  genial  goodness  native  to  his  head  and  heart  are 
manifest  in  the  spirit  of  his  public  conduct.  Every- 
where he  is  as  full  of  thought  as  ocean  is  of  brine,  but 
there  is  no  bitterness  in  his  written  or  living  speech. 
He  deals  very  sparingly  in  invective  ;  and  never  requires 
the  veil  of  public  spirit  to  be  thrown  over  bis  personal 
antipathies  and  inordinate  self-esteem.  He  may  seem 
to  be  "full  of  obstinate  questionings,"  nice  discrimina- 
tions, and  the  keen  observance  of  dialectic  rules ;  but 
when  soaring  highest  "  into  that  wide  and  uricircum- 
scribed  sphere  wherein  spirits  excursive  and  philosophi- 
cally modest  take  their  range,"  and  gathering  there,  "if 
not  certain  and  irrefragable  conclusions,  at  least  scat- 
tered particles  of  wisdom,  which  he  more  highly  esteemed 
than  all  the  stamped  coinage  whereof  dogmatism  makes 
its  boast,"  he  never ,  appears  malicious  in  thought  or 
deed.  His  loftiest  abstractions  are  embodied  in  that 


238  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

athletic  good  sense  which  disdains  to  stab  in  the  dark, 
and  is  equally  unambitious  of  enlarging  its  apparent 
magnitude  by  looming  through  a  fog.  He  amalgamates 
an  artless  angular  elocution  and  rigid  mental  precision, 
with  perpetual  suavity  of  spirit,  in  language  the  most 
lucid  and  choice.  However  specious  at  fir§t  the  system 
may  look  which  he  rises  to  maintain,  he  delivers  in  its 
defence  a  prodigious  number  of  pointed  observations, 
which  at  once  are  regarded  as  parliamentary  axioms, 
universal  and  profound. 

What  in  particular  is  to  be  observed  with  regard  to 
Mr.  Calhoun  is,  that,  in  a  pre-eminent  degree,  his  is  the 
eloquence  of  character.  There  is  a  moral  power  in  his 
life  which  imparts  authority  to  his  speech,  and  com- 
mands respect.  Nothing  in  man  is  valuable  that  is  not. 
characteristic.  Without  character,  all  language  is  empty 
and  insignificant ;  since  it  is  only  from  this  quality  that 
beauty  can  be  developed  and  truth  enforced.  A  speaker 
may  be  hard  in  his  style,  severe  and  dry,  and  yet  not 
fail  to  please,  provided  he  is  imbued  with  courteous  but 
decided  independence  of  character  and  undoubted  integ- 
rity. As  this  is  the  only  ground  of  personal  worth,  so 
is  it  the  only  guarantee  of  public  safety.  Talent  is 
always  but  too  readily  worshipped  ;  but,  if  it  be  divorced 
from  rectitude  of  purpose,  it  is  characterized  more  by 
the  attributes  and  influence  of  a  demon  than  a  god.  It 
is  well,  therefore,  that  "  the  splendor  of  corruption  hath 
no  power  nor  vital  essence."  Honesty  is  a  great  part  of 
eloquence.  We  persuade  others  most  by  being  sincerely 
earnest  ourselves.  This  is  a  virtue  that  redeems  many 
faults.  All  magnanimous  persons,  however  much  they 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  239 

differ  from  Mr.  Calhoun  in  belief,  will  grant  that  he 
is  manifestly  less  a  deceiver  than  deceived.  If  he  errs 
in  judgment,  it  is  his  misfortune  rather  than  his  crime. 
Hence  his  great  influence  over  all  parties,  and  hence,  as 
has  been  strikingly  proved,  their  anxiety  to  trust  the 
highest  national  welfare  to  his  supervision  in  the  darkest 
hour.  Without  exaggeration,  may  we  apply  to  our 
great  fellow-citizen,  thus  trained  and  trusted,  what  was 
eloquently  said  of  Lord  Chatham :  "  The  secretary  stood 
alone.  Modern  degeneracy  had  not  reached  him.  Origi- 
nal and  unaccommodating,  the  features  of  his  character 
had  1,he  hardihood  of  antiquity ;  his  august  mind  over- 
awed majesty  ;  and  one  of  his  sovereigns  thought  roy- 
alty so  impaired  in  his  presence,  that  he  conspired  to 
remove  him,  in  order  to  be  relieved  from  his  superiority. 
No  state  chicanery,  no  narrow  systems  of  vicious  poli- 
tics, no  idle  contest  for  ministerial  victories  sunk  him  to 
the  vulgar  level  of  the  great;  but,  overbearing,  persuasive, 
and  impracticable,  his  object  was  England, — his  ambition 
was  fame  ;  without  dividing,  he  destroyed  party  ;  with- 
out corrupting,  he  made  a  venal  age  unanimous ;  France 
sunk  beneath  him  ;  with  one  hand  he  smote  the  house 
of  Bourbon,  and  wielded  in  the  other  the  democracy  of 
England.  The  sight  of  his  mind  was  infinite,  and  his 
schemes  were  to  affect,  not  England,  not  the  present 
age  only,  but  Europe  and  posterity.  Wonderful  were 
the  means  by  which  these  schemes  were  accomplished, 
always  seasonable,  always  adequate,  the  suggestions  of 
an  understanding  animated  by  ardor,  and  enlightened 
by  prophecy. 

"  The  ordinary  feelings  which  make  life  amiable  and 


240  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

indolent,— --those  sensations  which  soften,  and  allure,  and 
vulgarize,  were  unknown  to  him  ;  no  domestic  difficul- 
ties,, no  domestic  weakness  reached  him  ;  but,  aloof  from 
the  sordid  occurrences  of  life,  and  unsullied  by  its  inter- 
course, he  came  occasionally  into  our  system  to  counse1 
and  decide. 

'"A  character  so  exalted,  so  strenuous,  so  various,  so 
authoritative,  astonished  a  corrupt  age,  and  the  Trea- 
sury trembled  at  the  name  of  Pitt  through  all  her  classes 
of  venality.  Corruption  imagined,  indeed,  that  she  had 
found  defects  in  this  statesman,  and  talked  much  of  the 
inconsistency  of  his  glory,  and  much  of  the  ruin  of  his 
victories — but  the  history  of  his  country,  and  the  calami- 
ties of  the  enemy,  answered  and  refuted  her. 

"Nor  were  his  political  abilities  his  only  talents;  his 
eloquence  was  an  era  in  the  Senate,  peculiar  and  sponta- 
eous,  familiarly  expressing  gigantic  sentiments  and  in- 
stinctive wisdom — not  like  the  torrent  of  Demosthenes,  or 
the  splendid  conflagration  of  Tully:  it  resembled,  some* 
times  the  thunder,  and  sometimes  the  music  of  the  spheres. 
Like  Murray,  he  did  not  conduct  the  understanding 
through  the  painful  subtilty  of  argumentation  ;  nor  was 
he,  like  Townshend,  for  ever  on  the  rack  of  exertion, 
but  rather  lightened  upon  the  subject,  and  reached  the 
point  by  the  flashings  of  his  mind,  which,  like  those  of 
his  eye,  were  felt,  but  could  not  be  followed. 

"  Yet  he  was  not  always  correct  or  polished ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  was  sometimes  ungrammatical,  neg- 
ligent and  unenforcing,  for  he  concealed  his  art,  and  was 
superior  to  the  knack  of  oratory.  Upon  many  occasions 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  241 

he  abated  the  vigor  of  his  eloquence ;  but  even  then, 
like  the  spinning  of  a  cannon  ball,  he  was  still  alive  with 
fatal,  unapproachable  activity. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  there  was  in  this  man  something  that 
could  create,  subvert,  or  reform  an  understanding,  a 
spirit,  and  an  eloquence  to  summon  mankind  to  society 
or  to  break  the  bonds  of  slavery  asunder,  and  rule  the 
wildness  of  free  minds  with  unbounded  authority;  some- 
thing that  could  establish  or  overthrow  empire,  and 
strike  a  blow  in  the  world  that  should  resound  through 
its  history." 

The  bard  of  Eden  said  that  a  poet "  ought  himself 
to  be  a  true  poem ;"  that  is  a  model  of  the  best  and  most 
honorable  qualities.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  claim  such 
for  the  distinguished  subject  of  this  sketch.  It  is  not  a 
primary  ambition  with  him  to  exemplify  the  words  of 
old  Puttenham  :  "  Ye  shall  know  that  we  may  dissemble 
in  earnest  as  well  as  in  sport,  under  covert  and  dark 
terms,  and  in  learned  and  apparent  speeches,  in  short 
sentences,  and  by  long  ambage  and  circumstance  of 
words,  and  finally,  as  well  when  we  lie,  as  when  we  tell 
truth."  He  is  not  one  of  those 

"  Men  of  that  large  profession  that  £an  speak 
To  every  cause,  and  things  mere  contraries, 
Till  they  are  hoarse  again,  yet  all  be  law  ! 
That  with  most  quick  agility  can  turn 
And  re-return  ;  can  make  knots  and  undo  them, 
Give  forked  counsel,  take,  provoking  gold 
On  either  hand,  and  put  it  up." 

Mr.  Calhoun  is  a  philosophical  statesman,  whom  it  is 
11 


242  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

impossible  for  those  who  prize  true  eloquence,  not  to 
admire — whom  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  justly  ap- 
preciate a  generous  nature  and  untarnished  worth,  not 
only  to  respect  but  love.  Perhaps  he  was  never  sur- 
passed for  the  union  of  metaphysical  acumen  and  ora- 
torical energy.  He  is  firm  and  yet  flexible,  having  little 
of  that  granite  style,  that  scholastic  stiffness,  which, 
under  the  abused  name  of  classical  correctness,  often 
exhibit  all  the  chilling  repulsiveness  that  belongs  to 
fictitious  solidity  and  affected  pomp, — pedantic  antiqua- 
rians who  have  garnered  nothing  from  departed  ages  but 
obsolete  formulas,  and  attitudes  of  stone.  Reason  is 
supreme  in  Mr.  Calhoun,  but  it  is  not  alone ;  it  is  asso- 
ciated with  imagination,  and  all  the  gentler  attributes. 
"  There  is  passion  enough,  but  like  the  steam  in  a  well- 
regulated  engine,  it  displays  itself  not  in  wreaths  and 
puffs  of  vapor,  but  in  the  rapid  and  methodical  action 
of  the  machinery  it  impels.  The  mind  of  the  student  is 
heated,  not  by  sparks  applied  to  his  prejudices,  his 
tastes,  to  his  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  or  his  sense  of  the 
sublime,  but  by  the  fire  which  has  been  raised  by  the 
vehement  electric  rapidity  with  which  the  reasoning 
process  has  been  conducted."  In  him,  argumentation 
is  limited  to  no  single  and  hackneyed  form,  but  becomes 
like  the  princess  of  the  Arabian  tale,  sword,  eagle,  01 
flame,  according  to  the  war  it  wages,  sometimes  pierc- 
ing, sometimes  soaring,  sometimes  illumining,  in  every 
useful  form,  retaining  no  fixed  image  of  itself,  except 
that  of  almost  supernatural  power.  No  arch  is  so  beau- 
tiful as  the  ancient  Roman  arch,  and,  like  that  of  Doric 
architecture,  its  beauty  arises  from  its  perfect  substau- 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN.  243 

liability,  and  the  ideas  it  suggests  of  strength  and  use- 
fulness. And  such  is  a  fit  type  of  the  eloquence  of  John 
C.  Calhoun. 

His  features  are  very  striking,  invested  as  they  are 
with  thought,  expression,  sympathy,  and  passion — the 
undisguised  consciousness  of  intellectual  power.  His 
vocabulary  is  adequate  to  express  all  the  refinements  of 
analytical  distinctions  :  his  countenance  is  equally  ade- 
quate to  convey  all  the  minute  subtleties  of  feeling, 
when  the  vocal  organs  are  too  much  oppressed  by  emo- 
tion to  speak.  He  has  real  greatness,  dignity,  and  force, 
can  inspire  a  trifle  with  importance,  and  wield  every 
forensic  implement  with  effect.  Impotency  itself  be- 
comes strength  in  the  hands  of  genius,  while  the 
greatest  abilities  are  dwarfed  into  impotency  by  the 
touch  of  mediocrity.  The  shepherd's  staff  of  Paris 
would  have  been  a  deadly  weapon  in  the  grasp  of 
Achilles ;  but  the  ash  of  Peleus  could  only  have  fallen 
unused  from  the  dainty  fingers  of  the  perfumed  and 
effeminate  archer.  Only  that  majesty  is  truly  imposing 
which  is  tempered  by  emanations  of  intelligence,  adorn- 
ed with  honor  and  softened  into  love.  Such  is  the  cha- 
racter of  Mr.  Calhoun,  prominent  among  the 

"  Men  whose  great  thoughts  possess  us  like  a  passion 
Through  every  limb  and  the  whole  heart ;  whose  words 
Haunt  us  as  eagles  haunt  the  mountain  air  ; 
Thoughts  which  command  all  coming  times  and  minds, 
As  from  a  tower  a  warden." 


CHAPTER  V. 
GEORGE   McDUFFlE, 

THE  IMPETUOUS. 

IN  the  subjoined  remarks  on  the  eloquence  of  Mr. 
McDuffie,  we  shall  endeavor  to  depict  him,  not  as  he  is 
now,  in  his  infirm  and  emaciated  condition,  but  as  he 
was  in  the  days  of  his  physical  firmness  and  mental 
glory.  Then,  his  strong  memory,  expressive  physiogno- 
my, powerful  voice,  and  excited  action,  gave  to  him 
extraordinary  weight  as  a  speaker.  He  broke  into  the 
political  arena  with  the  fury  of  a  competitor  too  late  for 
the  combat ;  and,  as  if  to  redeem  lost  time,  or  to  annihi- 
late as  soon  as  possible  the  antagonist  who  had  sum- 
moned him  to  the  fight,  he  amazed  all  by  the  eloquent 
violence,  the  unexampled  impetuosity,  and  fierce  ear- 
nestness with  which  he  smote  down  his  foes.  In  his 
best  days  there  was  in  him  an  impetuous  and  concen- 
trated grandeur,  a  scornful  energy,  which  was  rendered 
exceedingly  effective  by  spontaneous  fervor  and  a  com- 
prehensive mind. 

<c  His  voice  blew  like  the  desolating  gust  • 
Which  strips  the  trees,  and  strews  the  earth  with  death. 


GEOR6E    MCDUFFIE.  245 

His  words  were  ever  like  a  wheel  of  fire, 
Rolling  and  burning  this  way  now,  now  that : 
Now  whirling  forth  a  blinding  beam,  now  soft 
And  deep  as  Heaven's  own  luminous  blue — and  now 
Like  to  a  conqueror's  chariot  wheel  they  came, 
Sodden  with  blood  and  slow,  revolving  death  : 
And  every  tone  fell  on  the  ear  and  heart, 
Heavy  and  harsh  and  startling,  like  the  first 
Handful  of  mould  cast  on  the  coffined  dead, 
As  though  he  claimed  them  his." 

In  every  department  of  high  endeavor,  we  occasion- 
ally meet  with  heroes  who  always  appear  in  a  tempest, 
as  if  generated  by  its  fury.  They  are  insubordinate  but 
illustrious,  braving  defeat  and  attempting  the  apparently 
impossible,  with  disordered  garments,  dishevelled  hair, 
and  extended  arms,  smiting  in  every  direction,  but  with 
an  eye  unblenching  and  a  heart  undismayed.  Such  was 
Kleber  at  Heliopolis;  Danton  in  the  French  assembly, 
Diderot  among  militant  philosophers,  and  McDuffie  in 
the  American  Congress.  This  Jupiter  Tonans  was 
e,ver  armed  with  thunders  which  he  launched  against 
his  foes,  without  showing  them  the  anvil  on  which  they 
had  been  forged,  and  without  revealing  the  slow  and 
laborious  process  by  which  they  were  prepared.  Sud- 
denly he  would  appear,  without  any  previous  intimation 
of  his  design,  to  smite  down  what  he  regarded  as  the 
monster  Consolidation,  and  victoriously  fight  the  battles 
of  Free  Trade  and  State  Rights. 

All  great  questions  are  raised  and  settled  by  men  in 
earnest — men  who  have  bound  invaluable  principles 
about  their  hearts  which  t'aey  feel  are  "  part  and  parcel" 


246  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

of  their  being,  and  in  the  defence  of  which  they  will 
sacrifice  everything  dear  rather  than  let  them  go.  Such 
earnestness  is  very  sure  to  make  tremble,  if  not  entirely 
to  overthrow,  the  systems  to  which  it  shall  corne  in  full 
force  to  be  opposed.  It  is  not  dainty  in  its  means,  nor 
obscure  in  its  opposition.  It  levels  against  them  wit, 
satire,  persuasion,  argument.  It  heeds  not,  in  this  mat- 
ter, the  decisions  of  the  powers  that  be.  It  is  not  afraid 
of  being  taunted  as  treasonable.  Truth  is  its  aim  ;  error 
is  in  its  way  ;  and  with  a  view  to  one,  it  cannot  afford 
to  be  delicate  towards  the  other.  A  lie  is  called  a  lie, 
shown  to  be  a  lie,  denounced  as  a  lie,  and  men  are  told 
to  reject  it  or  perish.- 

Mr.  McDuffie  has  distinguished  himself  both  as  a 
writer  and  speaker.  Of  his  elaborated  political  writings 
we  need  adduce  but  a  single  specimen.  It  is  taken 
from  a  work  entitled  "  National  and  State  Rights  Con- 
sidered," Was  written  in  his  early  maturity,  and  is  the 
more  noticeable  as  being  somewhat  antagonistic  to  his 
subsequent  opinions  and  action.  We  quote  it  as  a  fair 
sample  of  the  earnest  discrimination  and  condensed 
force  peculiar  to  this  author.  Says  he  : 

"  You  assert,  that  when  any  conflict  shall  occur  be- 
tween the  General  and  State  Governments,  as  to  the 
extent  of  their  respective  power% '  each  party  has  a  right 
to  judge  for  itself.'  I  confess  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know, 
how  such  a  proposition  ought  to  be  treated.  No  climax 
of  political  heresies  can  be  imagined,  in  which  this  might 
not  fairly  claim  the  most  prominent  place.  It  resolves  the 
Government  at  once  into  the  elements  of  physical 
force,  and  introduces  us  directly  into  a  scene  of  anarchy 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  217 

and  blood.  There  is  not  a  single  power  delegated  to  the 
General  Government,  which  -it  would  not  be  in  the 
power  of  every  State  Government  to  destroy,  under  the 
authority  of  this  licentious  principle.  It  will  be  only 
necessary  for  a  State  Legislature  to  pass  a -law,  forbid- 
ing  that  which  the  Federal  Legislature  enjoins,  or  en- 
joining what  the  Federal  Legislature  forbids,  and  the 
work  is  accomplished.  Perhaps  you  would  require  the 
State  Judiciary  to  pronounce  the  State  law  constitu- 
tional. I  will  illustrate  by  a  few  examples : 

"  Suppose  Congress  should  pass  a  law  '  to  lay  and  col- 
lect taxes,  imposts  and  excises,'  and  that  a  State  Legis- 
lature should  pass  another,  declaring  the  objects  for  which 
the  revenue  was  intended  were  unconstitutional,  and 
therefore  prohibiting  the  officers  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment, by  severe  penalties,  from  collecting  the  taxes, 
duties,  imposts  and  excises.  Suppose  Congress  should 
pass  a  law  '  to  raise  an  army'  for  a  national  war,  and  a 
State  Legislature  pass  another,  declaring  the  war 
'  wicked,  unrighteous  and  unconstitutional,'  and  there- 
fore prohibiting  the  officers  of  the  General  Government, 
under  heavy  penalties,  from  recruiting  soldiers,  within 
the  limits  of  the  State.  Suppose  Congress  should  pass 
a  law  '  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  United  States,'  and  a  State 
Government  should  pronounce  it  unconstitutional,  and 
provide  heavy  penalties  against  all  officers,  judicial  or 
ministerial,  who  should  attempt  to  enforce  it.  I  need 
not  multiply  cases ;  for  if  you  will  duly  consider  these, 
you  will  find  enough  to  satiate  your  keenest  relish  for 
anarchy  and  disorder.  In  all  the  above  cases,  you 


248  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

would  say  '  each  party  has  a  right  to  judge  for  itseU 
and  of  course  to  enforce  its  judgment.  You  might  theft 
behold  a  revenue  officer  of  the  United  States  confined 
in  a  State  dungeon,  for  obeying  the  revenue  laws  of 
Congress,  &c.  And  all  this  would  unavoidably  result 
in  giving  the  State  rulers  a  right  to  resist  the  General 
Government,  or  in  a  civil  war  to  establish  its  legitimate 
authority ;  consequences,  either  of  which  is  incompati- 
ble with  the  very  notion  of  government.  To  suppose 
that  the  General  Government  has  a  constitutional  right 
to  exercise  certain  powers,  which  must  operate  upon 
the  people  of  the  States,  and  yet  that  the  Government 
of  each  State  has  the  right  to  fix  and  determine  its  own 
relative  powers  and  by  necessary  consequence  to  limit 
the  powers  of  the  General  Government,  is  to  suppose 
the  existence  of  two  contradictory  and  inconsistent 
rights.  In  all  governments,  there  must  be  some  one 
supreme  power ;  in  other  words,  every .  question  that 
can  arise,  as  to  the  constitutional  extent  of  the  powers 
of  different  classes  of  functionaries,  must  be  susceptible 
of  a  legal  and  peaceable  determination,  by  some  tribunal 
of  acknowledged  authority,  or  force  must  be  the  inevita- 
ble consequence.  And  where  force  begins,  government 
ends. 

"  And  it  is  the  more  astonishing,  that  you  have  as- 
sumed positions,  involving  such  tremendous  conse- 
quences, when  we  consider  tha*  they  are  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  '  strict  letter '  of  the  Constitution,  your 
favorite  test  of  the  extent  of  delegated  powers.  It  is 
therein  provided  '  that  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  349 

thereof/  '  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  the 
judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything 
in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding.'  And  again,  '  the  judicial  power  (of 
the  United  States)  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law  and 
equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made, 
under  their  authority.'  Nothing  can  be  more  plain  than 
that  the  '  strict  letter '  of  the  Constitution  does  make  the 
laws  of  Congress  supreme,  enjoining  obedience  upon  the 
State  functionaries,  and  making  void  the  laws  of  a  State 
if  contrary  thereto.  And  to  give  the  provision  a  sanc- 
tion of  a  nature  peculiarly  impressive,  '  the  members  of 
the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to 
support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

"  It  is  not  less  evident,  that  it  belong^  to  the  National 
Judiciary,  to  pronounce  upon  the  constitutionality  or 
unconstitutionally  of  the  laws  of  the  National  Legisla- 
ture. Its  jurisdiction  extends  to  all  cases  rising  under 
them ;  and  it  is  hard  to  conceive  how  in  any  possible 
case  a  federal  judge  can  decide  a  case,  arising  under  a 
law,  without  pronouncing  upon  the  constitutionality  of 
that  law.  In  fact,  it  would  be  vain  and  idle  to  make  the 
laws  of  Congress  supreme,  if  the  National  Judiciary  had 
not  the  power  of  enforcing  them.  For  you  can  hardly 
be  ignorant,  that  a  law  is  a  dead  letter,  without  an  organ 
to  expound,  and  an  instrument  to  enforce  it.  I  should 
suppose,  therefore,  that  no  professional  man  could  hesi- 
tate in  saying,  that  a  forcible  opposition  to  the  judgment 
11* 


250  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

of  the  federal  court,  founded  upon  an  act  of  Congress, 
by  whatever  State  authority  that  opposition  might  be  au- 
thorized, would  be  the  very  case,  which  the  Convention 
had  in  view,  when  they  made  provision,  for  '  calling 
forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union.'  But 
I  sincerely  hope,  that  your  licentious  doctrines  will  never 
have  the  effect  of  misleading  the  State  authorities  so  far, 
as  to  render  this  terrible  resort  unavoidable.  I  trust  the 
farewell  address  of  Washington,  admonishing  his  fellow- 
citizens  to  'frown  indignantly'  upon  those  who  preach 
up  doctrines  tending  to  disunion,  is  not  yet  forgotten." 

As  a  brief  specimen  of  his  indignant  ardor,  and  adroit 
energy  in  retort,  take  the  following.  Replying  to  the 
charge  of  federalism,  made  by  his  State  Right  opponents 
to  the  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe,  Mr.  McDuffie  says  : 

"  Presuming  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  people,  you 
have  vainly  imagined,  they  could  be  carried  away,  by 
the  '  magic  of  a  \iame.'  Hence  your  continual  strain- 
ing, your  ridiculous  twisting,  to  associate  with  every 
measure  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration  the  term  fede- 
ral; a.  term  which  you  suppose  will  awaken  so  many 
odious  associations,  as  to  make  the  people  forget,  that,  as 
a  party  word,  so  far  from  applying  to  Mr.  Monroe's  ad- 
ministration, it  properly  belongs  to  its  opponents.  And 
as  among  these,  you  may  claim  a  distinguished  situation, 
having  preached  pretty  much  the  same  doctrines  in 
peace,  which  former  opponents  advocated  in  war,  you 
could  scarcely  have  deserved  more  credit,  had  a  defence 
of  the  famous  Hartford  Convention  and  an  accomplish- 
ment of  their  views,  so  similar  to  your  own,  been  the 
avowed  object  of  your  labors." 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  251 

In  bringing  before  the  reader  a  few  paragraphs  from 
Mr.  McDuffie's  pen,  however  redolent  of  meaning  and 
forcible  in  style  they  may  be,  we  are  deeply  conscious  of 
the  inadequacy  of  all  written  language  to  express  the 
full  import  and  energy  of  his  living  speech.  Much  of 
the  matter  and  spirit  of  eloquence  may  be  enshrined  in 
books ;  but  that  which  is  best  in  the  soul  of  the  gifted, 
which  is  most  impressive,  spontaneous,  vital  and  godlike 
in  his  nature  and  yearnings,  meditations  and  sympathies, 
attributes  which  are  adapted  to  move  and  regenerate 
the  earth,  gladdening  the  dwellers  thereof,  cannot  be 
stereotyped  in  leaden  plates  and  laid  away  in  musty 
libraries.  It  is  a  gleaming  and  unsheathable  potency, 
double-edged  and  invincible,  burning  one  moment  in  the 
brain  and  heart  of  a  true  orator,  and  at  the  next  as  quiclc- 
ly  becoming  the  inspiration  of  all  brains'  and  hearts 
listening  around. 

The-  passions  are  often  the  most  eloquent  persuaders. 
He  who  is  least  learned,  if  ardently  aroused,  will  be 
more  effective  than  the  most  erudite,  whose  language  is 
as  frigid  as  it  is  polished.  Like  a  wintry  sun,  the  phrase- 
ology of  sophisticated artificialness  may  dazzle,  but  it  has 
little  power  to  melt.  Feeling  is  often  not  less  efficient 
than  wisdom,  but  it  is  always  when  they  coalesce  with 
each  other  and  strike  with  simultaneous  blows.  Fanci- 
ful images  may  possess  transient  charms,  but  it  is  only 
fervid  sentiment  imbued  with  persuasive  reason  that 
permanently  interests  and  subdues.  Otherwise  the  cloud 
is  cold,  "although  ablaze  with  lightning — though  it 
shine  at  all  points  like  a  constellation."  Thoughts  and 
words  really  eloquent  are  the  ebullitions  of  radical  heat, 


232  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  indicators  of  life  and  health ;  not  spasmodic  contor- 
tions of  disease,  the  cadaverous  symptoms  of  approach- 
ing dissolution.  Nature  gave  Mr.  McDuffie 

"  A  heart  that  like  a  Geyser  spring, 

Amidst  its  bosomed  snows, 
May  shrink,  not  rest — but  with  its  blood 
Boils  even  in  repose." 

To  illustrate  what  we  have  already  said,  and  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  analytical  remarks  yet  to  follow,  we 
will  quote  a  few  examples  of  Mr.  McDuffie's  spoken  style. 
In  the  first,  he  characterizes  political  corruption  in  these 
terms  : 

"  Sir, — We  are  apt  to  treat  the  idea  of  our  own  cor- 
ruptibility as  utterly  visionary,  and  to  ask,  with  a  grave 
affectation  of  dignity — what !  do  you  think  a  member  of 
Congress  can  be  corrupted  ?  Sir,  I  speak  what  I  have 
long  and  deliberately  considered,  when  I  say,  that  since 
man  was  created,  there  never  has  been  a  political  body 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  that  would  not  be  corrupted 
under  the  same  circumstances.  Corruption  steals  upon  us 
in  a  thousand  insidious  forms,  when  we  are  least  aware 
ef  its  approaches.  Of  all  the  forms  in  which  it  can  pre- 
sent itself,  the  bribery  of  office  is  the  most  dangerous, 
because  it  assumes  the  guise  of  patriotism  to  accomplish 
its  fatal  sorcery.  We  are  often  asked,  where  is  the  evi- 
dence of  corruption  ?  Have  you  seen  it  ?  Sir,  do  you 
expect  to  see  it  ?  You  might  as  well  expect  to  see  the 
embodied  forms  of  pestilence  and  famine  stalking  before 
you,  as  to  see  the  latent  operations  of  this  insidious 
power.  We  may  walk  amidst  it  and  breathe  its  conta- 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIB  253 

gion,  without  being  conscious  of  its  presence.  All  expe- 
rience teaches  us  the  irresistible  power  of  temptation, 
when  vice  assumes  the  form  of  virtue.  The  great  enemy 
of  mankind  could  not  have  consummated  his  infernal 
scheme  for  the  seduction  of  our  first  parents,  but  for  the 
disguise  in  which  he  presented  himself.  Had  he  appeared 
as  th«  devil,  in  his  proper  form ;  had  the  spear  of  Ithuriel 
disclosed  the  naked  deformity  of  the  fiend  of  hell,  the 
inhabitants  of  Paradise  would  have  shrunk  with  horror 
from  his  presence.  But  he  came  as  the  insinuating  ser- 
pent, and  presented  a  beautiful  apple,  the  most  delicious 
fruit  in  all  the  garden.  He  told  his  glowing  story  to  the 
unsuspecting  victim  of  his  guile.  '  It  can  be  no  crime  to 
taste- of  this  delightful  fruit.  It  will  disclose  to  you  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  It  wili  raise  you  to  an  equa- 
lity with  the  angels.'  Such,  sir,  was  the  process  ;  and  in 
tbis  simple  but  impressive  narrative,  we  have  the  most 
beautiful  and  philosophical  illustration  of  the  frailty  of 
man,  and  the  power  oC-temptation,  that  could  possibly  be 
exhibited.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  been  forcibly  struck 
with  the  similarity  between  our  present  situation  and 
that  of  Eve,  after  it  was  announced  th,at  Satan  was  on 
the  borders  of  Paradise.  We,  too,  have  been  warned 
that  the  enemy  is  on  our  borders.  God  forbid  that  the 
similitude  should  be  carried  any  farther.  Eve,  conscious 
of  her  innocence,  sought  temptation  and  defied  it.  The 
catastrophe  is  too  fatally  known  to  us  all.  She  went, 
"  with  the  blessings  of  heaven  on  her  head,  and  its  purity 
in  her  heart,"  guarded  by  the  ministry  of  angels — she- 
returned,  covered  with  shame,  under  the  heavy  denun.r 
ciation  of  heaven's  everlasting  curse. 


254  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

"Sir,  it  is  innocence  that  temptation  conquers.  If 
our  first  parent,  pure  as  she  came  from  the  hand  of  God, 
was  overcome  by  the  seductive  power,  let  us  not  imitate 
her  fatal  rashness,  seeking  temptation  when  it  is  in  our 
power  to  avoid  it.  Let  us  not  vainly  confide  in  our  own 
infallibility.  We  are  liable  to  be  corrupted.  To  an 
ambitious  man,  an  honorable  office  will  appear  as  beau- 
tiful and  fascinating  as  the  apple  of  Paradise. 

"  I  admit,  sir,  that  ambition  is  a  passion,  at  once  the 
most  powerful  and  the  most  useful.  Without  it,  human 
affairs  would  become  a  mere  stagnant  pool.  By  means 
of  his  patronage,  the  President  addresses  himself  in  the 
most  irresistible  manner,  to  this,  the  noblest  and  strong- 
est of  our  passions.  All  that  the  imagination  can  desire 
— honor,  power,  wealth,  ease,  are  held  out  as  the  temp- 
tation. Man  was  not  made  to  resist  such  temptations. 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive,  Satan  himself  could  not 
devise,  a  system  which  would  more  infallibly  introduce 
corruption  and  death  into  our  political  Eden.  Sir,  the 
angels  fell  from  heaven  with  less  temptation." 

The  next  quotation  is  even  more  striking.  It  is  taken 
from  a  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  McDuffie  on  a  memora- 
ble occasion  in  vindication  of  South  Carolina: 

"  Mr.  Chairman, — A  great  and  solemn  crisis  is  evi- 
dently approaching,  and  I  admonish  gentlemen,  that  it  is 
the  part  of  wisdom,  as  well  as  of  justice,  to  pause  in  this 
course  of  legislative  tyranny  and  oppression,  before  they 
have  driven  a  high-minded,  loyal  and  patriotic  people 
to  something  bordering  on  despair  and  desperation.  Sir, 
if  the  ancestors  of  those  who  are  now  enduring — too 
patiently  enduring — the  oppressive  burdens  unjustly  im- 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  255 

posed  upon  them— could  return  from  their  giaves,  and 
witness  the  change  which  the  federal  government,  in 
one  quarter  of  a  century,  has  produced  in  the  entire 
aspect  of  the  country,  they  would  hardly  recognize  it  as 
the  scene  of  their  former  activity  and  usefulness.  Where 
all  was  cheerful,  and  prosperous,  and  flourishing,  and 
happy,  they  would  behold  nothing  but  decay,  and  gloom, 
and  desolation,  without  a  spot  of  verdure  to  break  the 
dismal  continuity,  or  even 

'  A  rose  of  the  wilderness  left  on  its  stalk, 
To  tell  where  the  garden  had  been.' 

"  Looking  upon  this  sad  reverse  in  the  condition  of 
their  descendants,  they  would  naturally  inquire  what 
moral  or  political  pestilence  had  passed  over  the  land,  to 
blast  and  wither  the  fair  inheritance  they  had  Jeft  them. 
And,  sir,  when  they  should  be  told,  that  a  despotic  power 
of  taxation  infinitely  more  unjust  and  oppressive  than 
that  from  which  the  country  had  been  redeemed  by  their 
toils  and  sacrifices,  was  now  assumed  and  exercised  over 
us  by  our  own  brethren,  they  would  indignantly  exclaim, 
like  the  ghost  of  the  murdered  Hamlet,  when  urging  his 
afflicted  son  to  avenge  the  tarnished  honor  of  his  house, 

'  If  you  have  nature  in  you,  bear  it  not.' 

"  Sir,  I  feel  that  I  am  called  upon  to  vindicate  the  mo- 
tives and  the  character  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina, 
from  imputations  which  have  been  unjustly  cast  upon 
them.  There  is  no  State  in  this  Union  distinguished  by 
a  more  lofty  and  disinterested  patriotism,  than  that  which 
I  have  the  honor,  in  part,  to  represent.  I  can  proudly 
and  confidently  rppeal  to  history  for  proof  of  this  asser- 


256  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

tion.  No  State  has  made  greater  sacrifices  to  vindicate 
the  common  rights  of  the  Union,  and  preserve  its  integ- 
rity. No  State  is  more  willing  to  make  those  sacrifices 
now,  whether  of  blood  or  treasure. 

"  But,  sir,  it  does.not  belong  to  this  lofty  spirit  of  patri- 
otism, to  submit  to  unjust  and  unconstitutional  oppres- 
sion, nor  is  South  Carolina  to  be  taunted  with  the  charge 
of  treason  and  rebellion,  because  she  has  the  intelligence 
to  understand  her  rights,  and  the  spirit  to  maintain  them. 
God  has  not  planted  in  the  breast  of  man  a  higher  and 
a  holier  principle,  than  that  by  which  he  is  prompted  to 
resist  oppression.  Absolute  submission  and  passive 
obedience  to  every  extreme  of  tyranny,  are  the  charac- 
teristics of  slaves  only. 

"  The  oppression  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina  has 
been  carried  to  an  extremity,  which  the  most  slavish 
population  on  earth  would  not  endure  without  a  struggle. 
Is  it  to  be  expected,  then,  that  freemen  will  patiently 
bow  down,  and  kiss  the  rod  of  the  oppressor  ?  Freemen, 
did  I  say  ?  Why,  sir,  any  one  who  has  the  form  and 
bears  the  name  of  a  man — nay,  "  a  beast  that  wants  dis- 
course of  reason,"  a  dog,  a  sheep,  a  reptile — the  vilest 
reptile  that  crawls  upon  the  earth,  without  the  gift  of 
reason  to  comprehend  the  injustice  of  its  injuries,  would 
bite,  or  bruise,  or  sting  the  hand  by  which  they  were 
inflicted. 

"  Is  it,  then,  for  a  sovereign  State  to  fold  her  arms  and 
stand  still  in  submissive  apathy,  when  the  loud  clamors 
of  the  people,  whom  Providence  has  committed  to  her 
charge,  are  ascending  to  heaven  for  justice?  Hug  not 
this  delusion  to  your  breast,  I  piay  you. 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  257 

"  It  is  not  for  me  to  say,  in  this  place,  what  course 
South  Carolina  may  deem  it  her  duty  to  pursue,  in  this 
great  emergency.  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  she  perfectly 
understands  the  ground  which  she  occupies;  and  be 
assured,  sir,  that  whatever  attitude  she  may  assume,  in 
her  highest  sovereign  capacity,  she  will  firmly  and  fear- 
lessly maintain  it,  be  the  consequences  what  they  may. 
The  responsibility  will  not  rest  upon  her,  but  upon  her 
oppressors.. 

"  I  will  say  in  conclusion,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  in  all  I 
have  uttered,  there  has  not  been  mingled  one  feeling  of 
personal  unkindness  to  any  human  being,  either  in  this 
house  or  out  of  it.  I  have  used  strong  language,  to  be 
sure,  but  it  has  been  uttered  "  more  in  sorrow  than  in 
anger,"  I  have  felt  it  to  be  a  solemn  duty^  which  I  owed 
to  my  constituents,  and  to  this  nation,  to  make  one  more 
solemn  appeal  to  thfe  justice  of  their  oppressors. 

"  Let  me,  then,  sir,  beseech  them,  in  the  name  of  our 
common  ancestors,  whose  blood  was  mingled  together 
as  a  common  offering,  at  the  shrine  of  our  common  lib- 
erty— let  me  beseech  them,  by  all  the  endearing  recol- 
lections of  our  common  "history,  and  by  every  considera- 
tion that  gives  value  to  liberty  and  the  union  of  thes& 
States,  to  retrace  their  steps  as  speedily  as  possible,  and 
to  relieve  a  high-minded  and  patriotic  people  from  an 
unconstitutional  and  oppressive  burden,  which  they  can- 
not longer  bear." 

In  the  great  debate  which  took  place  in  the  Senata 
on  Foot's  Resolution,  in  January,  1830,  an  incident 
occurred  which  indicated  the  appreciation  put  by  Mr 
Webster  upon  the  talents  of  Mr.  McDuffie,  and  al 


258  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  same  time  brought  into  prominent  notice  the  skill 
which  the  latter  possesses  of  mingling  graphic  descrip- 
tion and  pungent  appeals  in  forensic  argument. 

Said  the  orator  from  Massachusetts  : 

"  In  the  course  of  these  remarks,  Mr.  President,  I  have 
spoken  of  the  supposed  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  Allan-  * 
tic  States,  to  check,  or  at  least  not  to  hasten,  Western 
emigration,  as  a  narrow  policy.  Perhaps  I  ought  to 
have  qualified  the  expression  ;  because,  sir,  I  am  now 
about  to  quote  the  opinions  of  one,  to  whom  I  would 
impute  nothing  narrow.  I  am  now  about  to  refer  you 
to  the  language  of  a  gentleman  of  much  and  deserved 
distinction,  now  a  member  of  the  other  House,  and  oc- 
cupying a  prominent  situation  there.  The  gentleman, 
sir,  is  from  South  Carolina.  In  1825,  a  debate  arose  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  subject  of  the 
Western  road.  It  happened  to  me  to  take  part  in  that 
debate ;  I  was  answered  by  the  honorable  gentleman  to 
whom  I  have  alluded,  and  I  replied.  May  I  be  pardon- 
ed, sir,  if  I  read  a  part  of  this  debate  ? 

" '  The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  has  urged,' 
said  Mr.  McDuffie,  '  as  one  tedding  reason  why  the 
government  should  make  roads  to  the  West,  that  these 
roads  have  a  tendency  to  settle  the  public  lands ;  that 
they  increase  the  inducements  to  settlement,  and  that 
this  is  a  national  object.  Sir,  I  differ  entirely  from  his 
views  on  the  subject.  I  think  that  the  public  lands 
are  settling  quite  fast  enough  ;  that  our  people  need  no 
stimulous  to  urge  them  thither;  but -want  rather  a 
check,  at  least,  on  that  artificial  tendency  .to  the  west- 
ern settlement,  which  we  harre  created  by  our  own  laws. 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  259 

"  'The  gentleman  says,  that  the  great  object  of  Gov- 
ernment, with  respect  to  those  lands,  is  not  to  make 
them  a  source  of  revenue,  but  to  get  them  settled. 
What  would  have  been  thought  of  this  argument  in  the 
old  thirteen  States  ?  It  amounts  to  this,  that  those 
States  are  to  offer  a  bonus  for  their  own  impoverish- 
ment, to  create  a  vortex  to  swallow  up  our  floating 
population.  Look,  sir,  at  the  present  aspect  of  the 
southern  States.  In  no  part  of  Europe  will  you  see 
the  same  indications  of  decay.  Deserted  villages — 
houses  falling  to  ruin — impoverished  lands  thrown  out 
of  cultivation  !  Sir,  I  believe  that  if  the  public  lands 
had  never  been  sold,  the  aggregate  amount  of  the  na- 
tional wealth  would  have  been  greater  at  this  moment. 
Our  population,  if  concentrated  in  ^he  old  States,  and 
not  ground  down  by  tariffs,  would  have  been  more  pros- 
perous and  more  wealthy.  But  every  inducement  has 
been  held  out  to  them  to  settle  in  the  West,  until  our 
population  has  become  sparse,  and  then  the  effects  of  this 
sparseness  are  now  to  be  counteracted  by  another  artifi- 
cial system.  Sir,  I  say  if  there  is  any  object  worthy  the 

attention  of  this  Government,  it  is  a  plan  which  shall 
•  r 

limit  the  sale  of  the  public  lands.  If  those  lands  were 
sold  according  to  their  real  value,  be  it  so.  But  while 
the  Government  continues,  as  it  now  does,  to  give  them 
away,  they  will  draw  the  population  of  the  older  States, 
and  still  farther  increase  the  effect  which  is  already 
distressingly  felt,  and  which  must  go  to  diminish  the 
value  of  all  those  States  possess.  And  this,  sir,  is  held  out 
to  us  as  a  motive  for  granting  the  present  appropriation. 


260  LIVING     ORATORS    IW    AMERICA. 

I  would  not,  indeed,  prevent  the  formation  of  roads  on 
these  considerations,  but  I  certainly  would  not  en- 
courage it.  Sir,  there  is  an  additional  item  in  the  ac- 
count of  the  benefits  which  this  Government  has  con- 
ferred on  the  western  States.  It  is  the  sale  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  at  the  minimum  price.  At  this  moment  we 
are  selling  to  the  people  of  the  West  lands  at  one  dollar 
and  twenty-five  cents,  which  are  worth  fifteen,  and 
which  would  sell  at  that  price  if  the  markets  were  not 
glutted/ '' 

In  Professor  Wilson's  Noctes  Ambrosiance,  after  an 
exceedingly  unfavorable  portraiture  of  the  great  living 
Irish  orator,  Shield's  exterior,  Tickler  says  :  "  But  never 
mind — wait  a  little — and  this  vile  machinery  will  do 
wonders.  To  make  some  amends  for  her  carelessness 
in  all  other  external  affairs,  nature,  has  given  him  as  fine 
a  pair  of  eyes  as  ev.er  graced  human  head— large,  deep- 
ly-set, dark,  liquid,  flashing  like  gems,  and  these  fix  you 
presently,  like  a  basilisk,  so  that  you  forget  everything 
else  about  him  ;  and  though  it  would  be  impossible  to 
conceive  anything  more  absurdly  ungraceful  than  his 
action,  sharp,  sudden  jolts,  and  shuffles,  and  right-about 
twists  and  leaps,  all  set  to  a  running  discord  of  grunts 
and  moans,  yet,  before  he  has  spoken  ten  minutes,  you 
forget  all  this,  too,  and  give  yourself  up  to  what  I  have 
always  considered  a  pleasant  sensation — the  feeling,  I 
mean,  that  you  are  in  the  presence  of  a  man  of  genius  !" 

This  applies  admirably  to  Mr.  McDuffie,  who,  in  the 
best  days  of  his  strength,  possessed  those  endowments 
which  were  calculated  beyond  most  of  his  contempora- 
ries, to  inspire  that  noblest  of  all  kinds  of  eloquence 


GBORGE    MCDUFFIE.  261 

incomparably  superior  to  the  disciplined  and  elaborate 
oratory  which  too  much  abounds — the  "  logic  set  on 
fire,"  which  flows  from  those  lofty  sources  of  emotion 
which  nature  supplies  in  an  elevated  and  earnest  heart. 
"  Sursam  corda"  seems  ever  to  have  been  in  hisv  ritual 
as  an  orator,  if  not  as  a  religionist ;  impelled  as  he  was 
by  that  exaltation  of  the  feelings,  which  is  the  glory  of 
devotion  as  of  eloquence,  and  without  which  nothing 
great  or  good  was  ever  accomplished. 

A  clerical  friend,  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  McDuffie 
at  home,  once  described  to  the  writer  a  scene  which 
throws  much  light  on  his  remarkable  character.  A 
public  dinner  was  given  him  by  his  political  friends. 
Our  informant,  wishing  to  hear  the  great  speech  antici- 
pated, was  provided  with  a  privileged  seat  by  the  orator 
himself,  so  that  he  could  come  in  after  the  less  otherial 
festivities  were  over,  and  enjoy  the  more  desirable 
"  feast  of  reason  and  flow  of  soul." 

A  great  crowd  was  in  attendance.  The  preliminary 
toasts  and  harangues  being  passed,  the  great  man  of  the 
occasion  arose.  He  stood  above  medium  height,  was  in 
vigorous  health,  had  a  piercing  look,  profuse  hair  man- 
tled a  full  countenance,  and  his  general  aspect,  every  way 
striking,  was  rendered  still  more  noble  iby  his  prominent 
Roman  nose.  The  opening  of  his  speech  was  far  from 
being  elegant  or  even  fluent.  Without  grace  of  elocu- 
tion, and  without  anything  like  originality  or  force  of 
expression,  he  labored  through  a  succession  of  stumbling, 
awkward  sentences.  Strangers  who  were  present 
began  to  look  sorely  disappointed,  and  wondered  how 
such  a  speaker  cou/d  have  acquired  sucl  i  a  reputation. 


262  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

"  But  this  was  only  v/ing-flapping — not  flight ; 
The  pawing  of  the  courser  ere  he  win." 

The  speaker  began  to  warm  into  increased  speed  and 
force,  when  suddenly  his  whole  aspect  changed,  and  a 
splendid  train  of  ideas  gushed  from  his  fulminating 
eyes  and  lips.  Then,  like  one  possessed,  he  seemed  to 
have  become  insensible  to  everything  but  the  momen- 
tous subject  that  rose  on  his  view  and  demanded  the 
full  exercise  of  all  his  powers.  A  wine-glass  full  of  the 
"generous  beverage"  stood  before  him.  This,  with  one 
of  his  violent  gestures,  he  inadvertently  knocked  yards 
down  the  table,  and  dashed  on  in  a  torrent  of  eloquence 
perfectly  irresistible. 

This  occurred  just  before  the  outbreak  of  "  Nullifica- 
tion," a  subject  upon  which  Mr.  McDuffie  had  not  yet 
acted  with  the  same  sentiments  and  form  fti  which  he 
afterwards  appeared.  At  this  period,  his  scheme  was 
to  resist  the  tariff  by  "  non-consumption."  On  this 
topic  he  dilated  with  great  splendor  and  power.  His 
speech  became  scathing  and  insufferably  bright,  "  like 
the  white  lightning  of  a  day  too  hot."  The  listening 
and  excited  multitude  bent  forward  with  parted  lips  and 
impassioned  looks,  as  if  fearful  of  losing  a  single  word. 
At  the  moment  when  the  spell  was  complete  over  the 
entranced  mass — when  enthusiasm  had  become  accu- 
mulated to  its  utmost  height — and  every  passion  and 
fibre  in  every  listener  seemed  to  move  in  exact  sympa- 
thy with  the  almost  frenzied  orator,  he  grasped  the 
front'of  his  black  broadcloth  coat  with  his  two  hands 
convulsively,  raising  them  as  high  as  possible  for  a  mo- 


GEORGE    MCDUFPIE.  263 

ment,  and  then  bringing  them  down  with  an  energy 
that  threatened  to  rend  the  garment  in  tatters,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Doff  this  golden  tissue  !"  Our  clerical  friend, 
who  fired  up  mightily  as  he  recounted  the  reminiscences 
of  that  memorable  day,  protested  that,  had  Mr.  McDuf- 
fie  gone  one  step  further,  and  thrown  his  coat  clean  off, 
he,  and  every  other  man  present,  would,  in  an  instant, 
and  unconsciously,  have  done  the  same.  This  is  quite 
probable,  since,  in  two  months'  time  not  a  fine  coat  was 
to  be  seen  in  all  the  region.  Clergymen,  judges,  gov- 
ernor, and  all,  mounted  coarse,  home-spun,  and,  sure 
enough,  all  had  doffed  the  golden  tissue. 

"  Never  were  bliss  and  beauty,  love  and  woe, 
Ravelled  and  twined  together  into  madness, 
As  in  that  one  wild  hour," 

Ordinarily,  Mr.  McDuffie  is  reserved,  sombre,  and 
taciturn  ;  but  when  the  social  fit  is  on  him,  intellectual 
rays  break  from  his  person,  like  flashes  through  a  thun- 
der cloud.  When  once  thoroughly  aroused,  his  con- 
ceptions are  not  unfrequently  terrific  and  grand ;  not 
the  mere  paroxysms  of  a  fever,  given  forth  in  sonorous 
rhapsodies,  but  the  well  sustained  flights  of  a  vigorous 
understanding.  It  is  his  highest  glory  to  be  "  a  man  of 
mind,  above  the  run  of  men."-  In  the  sudden  transi- 
tions from  morbid  listlessness  to  impassioned  energy,  so 
common  to  him,  ideas  the  most  startling,  to  use  the  bold 
figure  of  Dante,  are  showered  into  his  mind.  Undei 
their  influence,  his  action  and  utterance  are  rapid,  and 
sometimes  become  more  violent  than  energetic.  In 
such  instances,  there  is  more  boisterousness  than 


264  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

grandeur,  more  passion  than  majesty.  If  his  speech  re- 
sembles "the  ocean  heaped  into  a^single  surge,"  it  does 
not  always  have  the  mellow  thunder  of  the  seas ;  nor, 
when  most  impetuous,  does  it  seem  "immortal  as  their 
ceaseless  music.''  It  is  true  that  jutting  peaks,  craggy 
shores,  fathomless  depths,  profuse  foam,  and  furious  mo- 
tion characterize  the  great  deep.  But  these  are  not  its 
only  traits,  nor  does  sublimity  constitute  its  only  attrac- 
tion. The  infinitely  varied  forms  of  the  waves,  their 
light  and  shadow,  the  gay  transparency  of  their  spray, 
and,  above  all,  the  perpetual  change  of  color -and  action, 
amuse  the  contemplator  in  detail,  as  much  as  the  gran- 
deur'of  the  united  aftributes  is  calculated  to  awe  his  mind. 
The  popular  heart  needs  to  be  soothed  as  well  as 
stimulated,  and  in  this  respect,  as  in  many  others,  there 
is  a  strong  analogy  between  eloquence  and  music;  both, 
wnen  perfect,  produce  a  pleasing  repose — a  calm,  sober 
delight — which,  if  not  relieved  by  skillful  variety,  soon 
chafes  into  weariness  or  sinks  into  sleep.  As  the  prin- 
ciple of  harmony  must  be  preserved  in  the  wildest  and 
most  eccentric  music,  wherein  sudden,  and  quickly 
varying  emotions  of  the  soul  are  expressed,  so  must  im- 
perturbable self-control  attend  the  speaker  in  scenes  of 
the  greatest  excitement  and  confusion.  Johnson,  who 
was  not  only  a  sincere  and  discriminating  admirer  of 
Shakspeare,  but  who  did  much  to  restore  his  glory,  cor- 
rectly observes  that,  with  all  his  beauties,  he  has  faults, 
and  faults  which  could  obscure  any  other  writer  than 
nimself ;  that  his  effusions  of  passion,  when  the  situation 
naturally  calls  them  forth,  are  in  the  highest  degree 
striking  and  energetic  :  but  that,  when  he  puts  his  in- 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  265 

vention  and  his  faculties  to  the  rack,  the  fruits  of  his 
ambitious  toil  are  bombast,  meanness,  tediousness,  and 
obscurity. 

As  in  graphic  or  plastic  art,  the  wildest  and  most 
frenzied  fancy  is  obliged  to  appropriate  to  itself  the  com- 
mon laws  of  matter  as  the  means  of  developing  its  mean- 
ing, so  in  oratory  the  simplest  ideas  and  most  natural 
elocution  must  be  the  chief  instruments  employed, 
"  Light  over  strong,  and  darkness  over  long,  blind  equal- 
ly alike."  Care  should  be  taken  that  the  hearer  is  not 
perplexed  and  distracted  by  a  confusion  of  incongruous 
parts,  or  offended  by  inharmonious  tones.  The  truth  of 
this  observation  has  been  rendered  most  evident  by  the 
great  teacher  of  almost  every  rule  of  excellence,  when, 
on  a  parallel  occasion,  he  made  Hamlet  recommend  to 
the  players  the  comprehensive  precept,  never  to  offend 
eye  or  ear :  "  In  the  very  torrent,  tempest,  and  whirl- 
wind of  your  passion,"  says  he,  "you  must  acquire  and 
beget  a  temperance  that  may  give  it  smoothness."  And 
yet,  at  the  same  time,  he  observes  most  justly,  "  The  end 
of  playing,  both  at  the  first,  and  now,  was  and  is,  to  hold, 
as  't  were,  the  mirror  up  to  nature  ;  to  show  virtue  her 
own  feature,  scorn  her  own  image,  and  the  very  age  and 
body  of  the  time,  his  form  and  pressure."  No  oratorical 
maxims  can  be  truer  or  more  practical  than  these.  "  Be 
not  too  tame  neither,"  continues  Hamlet :  "  suit  the 
action  to  the-  word,  the  word  to  the  action :  with  this 
special  observance,  that  you  o'erstep  not  the  modesty  of 
nature." 

We  should  never  mistake  violence  for  strength,  grim- 
ace for  forcible  expression,  or  blood  and  horror  for  the  true 


Ji ,. 

206  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

sublime.  Perfect  oratorical  action  combines  the  strength 
of  the  Hercules  with  the  activity  of  the  gladiator,  and  the 
grace  of  the  Apollo.  Such  an  amalgamation  is  not  em- 
bodied in  "  glittering  masses  of  portentous  incongruities 
and  colossal  baubles,"  but  in  a  simple  and  lucid  gran- 
deur of  style  which  verifies  the  saying,  that  "  terror  hath 
a  beauty  even  as  mildness."  It  is  not  in  the  gross  and 
tumultuous  manifestations  of  fierce  elemental  energies, 
not  in  the  clash  of  the  hail,  nor  the  blast  of  the  whirl- 
wind, that  the  noblest  features  of  the  sublime  are  devel- 
oped. God  is  not  in  the  earthquake,  nor  in  the  fire,  but 
in  the  still  small  voice.  "  They  are  but  the  blunt  and 
the  low  faculties  of  our  nature,  which  can  only  be  ad- 
dressed through  lampblack  and  lightning,  It  is  in  quiet 
and  subdued  passages  of  unobtrusive  majesty,  the  deep, 
and  the  calm,  and  the  perpetual — that  which  must  be 
sought  ere  it  is  seen,  and  loved  ere  it  is  understood — 
things  which  the  angels  work  out  for  us  daily,  and  yet 
vary  eternally,  which  are  never  wanting,  and  never 
repeated,  which  are  to  be  found  always,  yet  each  found 
but  once ;  it  is  through  these  that  the  lesson  of  devotion 
is  chiefly  taught,  and  the  blessing  of  beauty  given." 
We  should  remember  that  passion  is  not  absolutely  and 
in  itself  great  or  violent,  but  only  in  proportion  to  the 
weakness  of  the  mind  it  has  to  deal  with ;  to  increase 
its  flame  is  necessarily  to  decrease  the  fund  of  substan- 
tial strength  on  which  it  subsists  : 

"  The  fire  that  mounts  the  liquor,  till  it  run  o'er, 
In  seeming  to  augment  it,  wastes  it.1' 

When  a  fondness  for  the  sensations  of  power  in  a 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  267 

public  speaker  becomes  intrusive  and  attractive,  in 
itself,  instead  of  being  subordinated  to  the  results  it 
would  attain,  and  lost  in  them,  it  is  undoubtedly  a 
fault  of  the  most  vitiating  character.  Hence  the  exam- 
ple of  an  orator  like  Mr.  McDuffie  is  liable  to  be  a  dan- 
gerous one  to  aspiring  youth,  naturally  inclined  to  be 
led  astray  by  what  is  merely  dazzling,  daring  and  impet- 
uous. In  the  master  himself,  it  is  a  style  of  oratory 
which  approaches  the  highest  order  of  merit,  because  it 
is  natural ;  but,  when  imitated,  it  is  sure  to  degenerate 
into  action  the  most  extravagant  and  expressions  the 
most  ferocious.  Such  corruscations  of  fancy  and  super- 
ficial passion  are  to  true  eloquence,  what  the  incessant 
flashings  of  a  tempestuous  night  are  to  daylight.  It  may 
be  difficult  to  say,  whether  they  are  the  height  of  the  sub- 
lime, or  the  superlatively  ridiculous  :  perhaps  we  should 
more  truly  say,  that  in  every  such  case,  it  is  not  a  dubi 
ous  point  to  decide  as  to  which  category  they  belong. 
Disgust  ever  dwells  near  the  line  that  separates  legiti- 
mate terror  and  pity  from  horror  and  aversion,  as  if  sta- 
tioned there  on  purpose  to  guard  against  all  extravagance. 
Great  energy  of  thought  and  expression  is  perfectly  natu- 
ral to  persons  of  a  certain  temperament,  and  in  them  is 
the  ground  and  guarantee  of  the  highest  excellence,  but 
is  exceedingly  offensive  when  affected  or  assumed. 
Such  coarseness  of  verbiage  and  furiousness  of  manner 
is  inspired  by  that  false  Bacchus,  whose  influence  is 
quite  too  prevalent  in  our  day. 

In  his  peculiar  style,  Mr.  McDuffie  is  without  a  rival 
His  voice  resembles  the  harsh  terrific  blast  of  the  trum- 
pet, rather  than  the  tender,  mellifluous  harmony  of  the 


268  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

flute  or  jEolian  harp,  and  breaks  on  the  trembling  air 
"  like  ocean's  tongue  in  Staffa's  stormy  cave.''  By  the 
spontaneous  energy  of  his  perspicuous  reason,  winged 
in  the  burning  beams  of  truth,  he  has  power  to  force 
open  the  eyes  of  men,  and  when  open,  he  can  illuminate 
or  blind  them.  His  elocution  smites  on  the  popular 
heart  like  the  club  of  Hercules ;  the  stroke  bears  a  crush- 
ing force,  but  its  sweep  is  both  irregular  and  awkward, 
illustrating  energy  rather  than  elegance.  He  is  the  im- 
personation of  that  convulsive  power  which  agitates  the 
masses  and  impels  them  to  action.  Seen  when  the 
crowded  pack  of  his  passions  are  in  full  chase,  he  is, 
indeed,  a  mighty  hunter,  whose  course  no  ordinary  arm 
can  for  a  moment  oppose.  At  other  times  he  is  moody 
and  sad,  and  appears  as  if  he  could  be  aroused  only  by 
the  sympathetic  action  of  that  ^popular  phrenzy  which 
crouches  ever  in  the  dark  cavern  of  the  future,  to  spring 
upon  us  like  a  tropical  tornado, 

"Which,  hushed  in  grim  repose,  awaits  his  evening  prey." 

Men  like  Mr.  McDuffie  are  not  to  be  subjected  to  the 
ordinary  canons  of  criticism.  If  you  require  a  colossus 
to  force  his  feet  into  tiny  Chinese  slippers,  he  will  burst 
such  impediments  like  a  lion  breaking  his  chains.  There 
is  too  much  life  and  agility  in  him  for  vassalage  so  dis- 
graceful to  great  inborn  strength.  Some  one  compared 
the  genius  of  Racine  to  the  Apollo  Belvidere,  and  the 
genius  of  Shakspeare  to  the  equestrian  statue  of  Philip 
IV.  in  Notre  Dame  at  Paris.  ^  Be  it  so,"  replied  Dide- 
rot • ''  but  what  would  you  th:nk,  were  the  wooden  statue 


GEORGE    MCDUFFIE.  269 

to  draw  down  his  helmet,  shake  his  gauntlet,  brandish 
his  sword,  and  prance  about  the  cathedral  ?" 

In  Mr.  McDuffie  there  is  abundance  of  force ;  if  he 
had  been  endowed  with  a  larger  measure  of  easy  grace 
and  diversified  naturalness,  perhaps  he  would  have  been 
a  better  model.  Says  Chateaubriand  :  "The  great  poet 
of  Albion,  endowed  with  creative  power,  animates  even 
inanimate  objects.  The  scenes,  the  stage,  a  branch  of 
a  tree,  a  blade  of  grass,  the  bones  in  a  churchyard,  all 
speak  :  under  his  magic  touch  there  is  nothing  dead,  not 
even  death  itself. 

"  Shakspeare  makes  great  use  of  contrasts :  he  loves 
to  mingle  diversions  and  acclamations  of  joy  with 
funeral  pomp  and  the  wailings  of  grief.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, the  musicians  summoned  to  the  nuptials  of  Juliet 
arrive  just  in  time  to  attend  her  remains  to  the  grave  ; 
and,  indifferent  to  the  grief  which  prevails  in  the  house 
of  mourning,  they  indulge  in  jests,  and  discourse  of 
matters  the  most  foreign  to  the  catastrophe.  Who  does 
not  recognize  in  this  the  reality  of  life  ?  who  does  not 
feel  all  the  bitterness  of  the  picture,  and  who  is  there 
that  has  not  witnessed  similar  scenes?  These  effects 
were  not  unknown  to  the  Greeks.  We  find  in  Eurip- 
ides those  simple  touches  of  nature  which  Shakspeare 
intermingles  with  his  loftiest  tragic  sublimity.  An  ex- 
ample' of  this  occurs  in  Phaedra,  where  the  princess  has 
just  expired,  and  the  chorus  know  not  whether  they 
shall  enter  her  apartment.  In  Alceste,  Death  and 
Apollo  exchange  pleasantries,  Death  wishes  to  seize  Al- 
ceste while  she  is  young,  because  he  is  not  anxious  to 
have  a  wrinkled  victim.  These  contrasts  verge  on  the 


270  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

terrible  :  but  then  a  single  shade  too  strong  or  too  faint 
in  the  expression  renders  them  senseless  or  ridiculous." 
The  mild  sentiments  have  their  eloquence  as  well  as 
the  vehement  passions,  but  it  is  the  latter  only,  or  at 
least  chiefly,  that  we  meet  with  in  Mr.  McDuffie.  Too 
often  the  symmetry  of  his  thought  and  the  beauty  of  his 
expression  is  dimmed  by  extravagance  or  deformity. 
But,  when  all  his  faults  are  subtracted,  there  still  re- 
mains the  extraordinary  merit  of  being  neither  insipid 
or  equivocal.  He  resembles  a  mighty  stream,  sometimes 
flowing  in  a  full  and  limpid  current,  and  oftener,  per- 
haps, turbid  and  encumbered  with  rubbish,  but  there  is 
always  a  mighty  volume  of  meaning  and  force  in  him 
which  it  is  much  easier  to  criticise  than  excel.  What 
\\e  are  most  anxious  to  impress  on  the  young  reader  is, 
that  neither  uncouthness  nor  impetuosity  is  necessarily 
allied  to  great  strength.  In  Laocoon,  as  Goethe  has 
suggested  respecting  that  master-piece  of  antiquity,  we 
contemplate  nature  in  full  revolt  and  desperation.  The 
last  choking  pang,  the  desperate  struggle,  the  maddening 
convulsion,  the  working  of  the  corroding  poison,  the 
vehement  fermentation  of  his  blood,  the  stagnating  cir- 
culation, suffocating  pressure,  and  paralytic  death,  yet 
over  the  utmost  violence  is  thrown  the  mantle  of  ma- 
jestic grace.  We  see  it,  feel  it  thrillingly  in  that  pre- 
sence, and  in  a  moment  understand  what  the  great  poet 
meant  when  he  celebrated  the 

"  Still  greatness  of  simplicity  and  repose." 


• 


•  £  i 


CHAPTER  VL 

LEWIS   CASS, 

THE   COURTEOUS. 

IT  is  an  invigorating  exercise,  to  attempt  the  ana- 
lytical portraiture  of  great  logical  powers ;  and  it  is  an 
exhilarating  one,  to  describe  adroit  talents  employed  in 
splendid  declamation.  But,  to  many  persons,  it  is  not 
less  pleasing  to  contemplate  simple  statesmanship  habitu- 
ally adorned  with  decided  good  nature. 

We  propose  to  sketch  the  career  of  General  Cass  as  a 
civilian,  military  chieftain,  and  patriotic  statesman. 

He  was  born  in  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  Oct.  9th, 
1782.  His  ancestors  were  among  the  first  settlers  of 
that  part  of  the  country.  It  is  said  that  his  father  bore 
a  commission  in  the  revolutionary  army,  which  he 
joined  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  in  which 
he  continued  until  the  close  of  the  war,  having  borne  a 
part  in  the  battles  of  Bunker  Hill,  Saratoga,  Trenton, 
Princeton,  Monmouth,  and  Germantown.  In  1799,  he 
moved  with  his  family  to  Ohio,  and  settled  in  the  vicinity 
of  Zanesville.  where,  after  a  life  of  honor  an.d  usefulness, 
he  died,  August,  1830. 

The  son  of  whom   we   ale   speaking,  was  educated 


272  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

"He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature  in 

,806      About  this  time  the  movements  of  Colonel 

h  Van  oreatlv  to  alarm  the  country.     Mr.  Cass  was  ap- 

! 


M,  Cass 


'"'Thus  have  we  arrived  at  the  period  when  his  military 


LEWIS    CAS3.  273 

should  turn  back  in  discouragement.  Colonel  Cass  was 
among  the  most  urgent  for  an  invasion  of  the  Canadian 
province,  immediately  after  the  army  arrived  at  Detroit ; 
but  General  Hull  did  not  cross  the  river,  until  after  the 
lapse  of  several  days,  and  thereby  lost  all  the  advan- 
tages of  a  prompt  and  decisive  movement.  The  ad- 
vanced detachment  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Cass, 
and  he  was  the  first  man  who  landed,  in  arms,  on  the 
enemy's  shore  after  the  declaration  of  war.  On  enter- 
ing Canada,  General  Hull  distributed  a  proclamation, 
among  the  inhabitants,  which,  at  the  time,  had  much 
notoriety,  and  was  generally  ascribed  to  Colonel  Cass  : 
it  is  now  known  that  he  wrote  it.  Whatever  opinions 
may  have  been  entertained  of  the  inglorious  descent  from 
promise  to  fulfillment,  it  was  generally  regarded  as  a  high 
spirited  and  eloquent  document.  Colonel  Cass  soon  dis- 
lodged the  British  posted  at  the  bridge  over  the  Canards. 
There  he  maintained  his  ground,  in  expectation  that  the 
army  would  advance  and  follow  up  the  success,  by 
striking  at  Maiden;  but  he  was  disappointed  by  the  in- 
decision of  the  general,  who  ordered  the  detachment  to 
return," 

Immediately  after  this  disastrous  movement,  Colonel 
Cass  repaired  to  Washington,  and  reported  the  proceed- 
ings to  Government.  In  the  following  spring  his  posi- 
tion was  changed,  being  appointed  colonel  of  the  27th 
regiment  of  infantry,  and  soon  after  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  He  joined  General 
Harrison,  at  Seneca,  and  crossing  Lake  Erie  with  him, 
after  Perry's  victory,  was  present  in  the  pursuit  of  Proc- 
tor, and  participated  in  the  triumph  at  the  Moravian 
12* 


274  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

towns.  The  north-western  campaign  being  brought  to 
a  successful  close,  General  Cass  was  left  in  command  of 
Michigan  and  the  upper  province  of  Canada.  His  head- 
quarters were  at  Detroit,  and  he  thus  became  the  mili- 
tary guardian  of  a  people  over  whom  he  was  soon  called 
to  preside  in  the  highest  civil  functions. 

What  follows  will  unfold  the  character  of  General 
Cass  more  particularly  as  a  patriotic  statesman.  On 
October  9th,  1813,  he  was  appointed  governor  over  the 
territory  just  alluded  to.  In  1814,  he  was  associated 
with  General  Harrison  in  a  commission  to  treat  with 
the  Indians,  who  had  acted  as  enemies  during  the  war. 
A  treaty  of  pacification  was  formed,  and  a  large  body  of 
influential  Indians  accompanied  Governor  Cass  to  Detroit, 
as  auxiliaries.  So  great  an  influence  had  he  already 
obtained  over  the  most  savage  natures,  by  blended  cour- 
tesy and  decision,  that  many  were  transformed  into  the 
most  efficient  friends.  At  one  period,  Michigan  was  left 
with  a  single  company  of  regular  soldiers  for  its  defence, 
and  that  at  the  time  consisted  of  only  twenty-seven  men. 
Yet,  with  this  inadequate  force,  and  the  local  militia, 
the  governor,  more  by  personal  persuasion  than  martial 
compulsion,  was  able  to  defend  the  territory  against 
all  of  its  foes. 

After  the  termination  of  the  war,  Governor  Cass 
moved  his  family  to  Detroit.  'History  records  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  at  that  time.  "  Michigan  had  suffered 
greatly  during  the  war;  Detroit  exhibited  a  scene  of 
devastation.  Scarcely  a  family,  when  it  resumed  its 
domestic  establishment,  found  more  than  the  remnants 
jf  former  wealth  and  comforts.  Laws  had  become  si- 


LEWIS    CASS.  275 

lent,  and  morals  had  suffered  in  the  genera]  wreck,  and 
it  required  great  prudence  and  an  uncommon  share  of 
practical  wisdom  to  lead  back  a  people  thus  disorganized, 
to  habits  of  industry  and  order.  The  civil  government 
was  established,  and  such  laws  enacted  as  could  be  most 
easily  carried  into  effect.  The  legislative  power  being 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  judges,  rendered 
it  a  delicate  task  to  aid  in  the  enactment  of  laws  which 
were  to  be  enforced  by  the  same  will ;  but  it  was  per- 
formed with  decision  and  enlightened  discrimination. 

"The  Indian  relations  were  likewise  to  be  readjusted 
throughout  the  western  frontier.  War  had  ruptured  or 
weakened  every  tie  which  had  previously  connected 
the  tribes  with  our  government.  By  decisive,  but  kind 
measures,  the  hollow  truce  which  alone  existed,  was  con- 
verted mto  a  permanent  peace,  and  they  returned  by  de- 
grees, to  their  hunting  grounds  and  usual  places  of  resort, 
with  a  general  disposition  to  live  in  amity  and  quiet." 

During  the  year  1816,  Governor  Cass  was  associated 
with  General  M' Arthur  to  treat  with  the  Indians  at 
Fort  Meigs.  The  north-western  portion  of  Ohio  was 
acquired  at  this  time.  The  following  year  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  same  duty  at  Fort  Mary's,  and  secured 
the  acquisition  of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Indiana.  In 
1819,  he  assisted  in  the  treaty  held  at  Sagano,  by  which 
extensive  relinquishments  were  obtained  from  the  In- 
dians in  Michigan.  In  all  these  negotiations,  Governor 
Cass  succeeded  most  effectually  by  his  courteous  frank- 
ness and  disposition  to  act  on  the  principle  of  fair  reci- 
procity. In  the  same  year,  he  exerted  himself  with  suc- 
cess, in  securing  the  election  of  a  delegate  to  Congress ; 


276  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA 

and  in  promoting  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  within  the 
territory.  It  is  believed  that  the  prosperity  of  Michi- 
gan was  greatly  promoted  by  these  measures. 

In  1820,  under  the  sanction  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  an  expedition  was  planned  by  Gov- 
ernor Gass,  the  object  of  which  was  to  pass  through 
Lake  Superior,  cross  the  country  to  the  Mississippi,  ex- 
plore the  sources  of  that  river,  and  establish  an  inter- 
course with  the  Indians,  on  that  extensive  route.  The 
party  combined  persons  eminent  for  their  military  and 
scientific  accomplishments.  A  preliminary  object  was, 
to  inform  the  Indians  at  the  Sault  de  St.  Marie  of  the 
intention  of  government  to  establish  a  military  post  at 
that  point,  and  to  determine  a  suitable  site.  Connected 
with  this  undertaking,  the  following  published  incident 
will  be  read  with  interest :  "  On  his  arrival  there,  Gov~- 
ernor  Cass  assembled  the  Indians  and  made  known  the 
object  in  view.  Being  under  the  influence  of  a  chief 
who  was  notoriously  disaffected  towards  the  United 
States,  they  heard  the  proposition  with  evident  ill-will, 
and  broke  up  the  council  with  every  appearance  of 
hostile  intentions.  They  returned  to  their  encampment, 
immediately  transported  their  women  and  children  over 
the  river,  and  raised  a  British  flag,  as  if  in  token  of  defi- 
ance. Governor  Cass  at  once  adopted  the  only  course 
suited  to  the  emergency.  Taking  only  an  interpretei 
with  him,  he  advanced  to  the  Indian  encampment  and 
pulled  down,  with  his  own  hands,  the  Anglo-Savage  flag, 
directing  the  interpreter  to  inform  the  Indians  that  they 
were  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  no  other  flag  than  theirs  must  be  allowed  to  wiTT/» 


LEWIS    CASS.  277 

over  it.  Having  given  this  bold  and  practical  rebuke, 
he  returned  to  his  party,  taking  with  him  the  flag,  and 
leaving  the  Indians  to  further  reflection.  The  moral 
influence  of  this  opportune  and  seemingly  perilous  step, 
was  immediately  seen  ;  new  overtures  were  made  by  the 
Indians,  which- led  to  an  amicable  and  satisfactory  ad- 
justment. The  course  of  the  expedition,  and  most  of  its 
scientific  results,  have  been  published  in  Mr.  School- 
craft's  interesting  journal." 

It  would  probably  weary  the  reader,  should  we  pre- 
sent full  details  of  all-  the  important  treaties  with  the 
various  Indian  tribes  which  were  mainly  conducted  by 
Governor  Cass: — in  1821,  at  Chicago;  in  1823,  with 
the  Dela wares  ;  in  1825,  at  Prairie  du  Chien ;  in  1827, 
and  again  in  the  following  year,  at  St.  Joseph's  and  Green 
Bay.  These  treaties  occasioned  him  an  incredible 
amount  of  fatigue  in  long  and  dangerous  journeys,  but 
were  most  fruitful  in  their  results.  In  his  rarious  treaties, 
Governor  Cass  has  acquired  for  the  'United  States,  and 
rescued  from  the  wilderness,  for  great  and  practical  agri- 
cultural purposes,  many  millions  of  acres  of  land ;  and 
by  a  kindness  of  manner,  as  well  as  uprightness  of  nego- 
tiation, which  it  is  believed  never  aggravated  the  lot  of 
a  single  Indian  or  tribe. 

In  1822,  the  Council  of  Michigan  held  its  first  session. 
This  body  relieved  the  governor  and  judges  of  their 
legislative  duties,  and  gave  the  government  a  more 
republican  form.  The  messages  which  Governor  Cass 
sent  to  the  several  councils,  convened  under  his  admin- 
istration, are  said  to  have  been  written  in  a  chaste  and 
dignified  style:  indeed,  all  the  documents  that  came 


278  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

from  his  pen,  while  governor  of  the  territory,  may  be 
regarded  as  good  models  of  executive  composition,  and 
exhibit  a  cultivated  literary  taste  of  a  high  order. 

In  addition  to  his  gubernatorial  writings,  General 
Cass  has  given  to  the  world  several  important  publica- 
tions. In  the  fiftieth  and  fifty-fifth  numbers  of  the  North 
American  Review,  he  discussed  the  Indian  character, 
language,  and  condition,  in  a  style  uncommonly  ear- 
nest and  eloquent.  These  articles,  full  of  graphic  his- 
tory, discriminating  analysis,  and  statistical  accuracy, 
attracted  general  attention,  and  imparted  much  gratifi- 
cation to  the  public  mind. 

A  historical  society  was  formed  in  Michigan,  in  1828, 
before  which  General  Cass  delivered  the  first  address  in 
1829,  embodying  the  early  history  of  Michigan,  and 
bringing  it  down  to  the  period  when  the  United  States 
came  into  possession  of  it.  It  was  deemed  of  great 
value  for  its  copious  historical  matter,  and  by  its  publi- 
cation much  permanent  information  was  secured. 

A  still  more  elaborate  production  was  occasioned  by 
a  request,  in  1830,  for  an  address  before  the  alumni  of 
Hamilton  College,  New  York,  at  their  anniversary 
meeting.  The  production  delivered  on  that  occasion 
displayed  an  affluence  of  reading  and  reflection  which 
proved  the  author's  acquaintance  with  most  of  the  de- 
partments of  knowledge,  and  doubtless  did  much  to 
secure  for  him  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.,  which  he 
afterwards  received  from  that  college.  He  had  before 
received  literary  honors  from  several  of  the  leading  his- 
torical and  philosophical  societies  of  the  land. 

In  July,  1831,  General  Cass  was,  by  President  Jack- 


LEWIS    CASS.  279 

son,  appointed  Secretary  of  War.  On  being  placed  in 
this  office,  he  resigned  that  of  Governor  of  Michigan,  in 
which  he  had  officiated  eighteen  years.  Says  a  writer 
in  allusion  to  the  event :  "  When  he  began  his  adminis- 
tration, he  found  the  country  small  in  population,  with- 
out resources,  and  almost  sunk  under  the  devastations 
of  war.  He  left  it  with  a  wide-spread  population,  and 
thriving  with  unprecedented  prosperity.  This  auspi- 
cious condition  may  not  all  be  attributed  to  executive 
instrumentality  :  but  an  administration,  impartial,  vigi- 
lant, pervading,  and  intelligent,  may  be  fairly  supposed 
to  have  shed  a  happy  influence  on  all  around.  It  will 
long  be  remembered  in  Michigan,  where  its  termination 
is  universally  regretted.  In  the  important  station  which 
he  now  holds,  his  sphere  of  usefulness  is  enlarged,  and 
none  of  his  predecessors  ever  enjoyed  a  greater  share  of 
public  confidence. 

"Strict  and  punctual  in  his  business  habits,  plain  and 
affable  in  his  manners,  with  powers  of  mind  which 
grasp,  as  it  were,  by  intuition,  every  subject  to  which 
they  are  applied — united  to  various  and  extensive  ac- 
quirements, we  feel  that  we  hazard  nothing  in  the  de- 
claration, that  the  measure  of  his  fame  is  not  yet  full." 

Having  performed  very  efficient  service  as  Secretary 
of  the  War  Department,  General  Cass  was  appointed 
Minister  at  the  Court  of  France.  The  fidelity  with 
which  he  performed  this  mission,  maintaining  the  honor 
of  his  country  with  his  pen  as  well  as  personal  dignity, 
and  his  particular  courtesy  to  all  Americans,  are  well 
known.  Tho'se  who  have  been  abroad  much,  know 
painfully,  that  the  latter  quality  is  not  always  signalized 


280  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

by  our  functionaries,  who,  too  often,  find  it  more  conve- 
nient to  ape  contiguous  kingcraft,  than  pay  the  atten- 
tions to  their  republican  countrymen  for  which  their 
office  is  held.  But  General  Cass  was  a  noble  exception, 
and  so  was  his  successor,  Mr.  King,  as  from  agreeable 
experience  we  can  testify.  Mrs.  Sigourney,  on  being 
presented  to  the  late  royal  family,  the  first  day  of  1841, 
wrote  a  poem  in  which  she  alluded  to  this  "  kind  ambas- 
sador." The  foot-note  she  appends  to  that  expression 
embodies  the  sentiment  of  many  hundreds.  Says  she, 
"  How  justly  is  this  adjective  applied  to  General  Cass, 
and  all  his  family.  His  unwearied  attention  to  travel- 
lers from  his  native  country,  during  the  whole  time  that 
he  has  represented  its  interests  at  the  Court  of  France, 
are  deeply  felt  and  fervently  acknowledged.  Without 
reference  to  political  creed,  or  other  adventitious  dis- 
tinction, he  not  only  gathers  them  around  him  with 
liberal  and  elegant  hospitality,  but,  aided  by  his  whole 
household,  strives  to  teach  them  the  luxury  of  home- 
feeling  in  a  foreign  land." 

This  high  office,  which  he  had  so  long  and  worthily 
filled,  General  Cass  relinquished  in  October,  1842,  and 
arrived  in  Boston,  Dec.  6th.  On  the  day  previous  to  his 
departure  a  public  dinner  was  given  him  by  his  fellow 
citizens  then  in  Paris,  as  .a  testimonial  of  their  high  re- 
spect and  warm  esteem. 

The  dinner  went  off  with  great  eclat,  and  the  com- 
pany separated  at  an  early  hour,  bearing  with  them  the 
recollection  of. a  most  delightful  and  agreeable  evening, 
and  with  but  one  circumstance  to  modify  their  pleasure 
— the  necessity  of  bidding  adieu  to  him  whose  guests 


LEWIS    CASS.  281 

they  had  so  often  been,  and  who  now  and  for  the  last 
time  was  theirs. 

On  July  4th,  1843,  the  completion  of  the  Wabash  and 
Erie  Canal  was  celebrated.  After  a  prayer  had  been 
made  by  the  chaplain,  and  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence read,  General  Cass  rose  and  delivered  an  oration 
from  which  we  make  the  following  selection.  After  an 
appropriate  exordium,  he  says: 

"  It  is  profitable  in  the  career  of  life,  occasionally  to 
pause  to  withdraw  ourselves  from  the  very  busy  scenes, 
with  which  we  mingle,  and  to  look  back  upon  the  pro- 
gress we  have  made,  and  forward,  as  far  as  it  is  given  to 
us  to  look  forward  upon  the  prospect  before  us.  These 
are  high  places  in  the  journey  of  life,  whence  the  region 
around  is  best  contemplated  and  understood.  In  all 
time  great  events  have  been  thus  commemorated.  The 
principle  has  its  foundation  in  human  nature,  though 
perverted  in  its  application  by  power  or  superstition 
And  many  a  monument  which  has  survived  its  own 
history  and  the  objects  of  its  founders,  yet  looks  out 
upon  the  silence  around  it,  the  solitary  evidence  of 
some  great,  but  forgotten  event  in  the  fitful  drama  of 
life.  And  we  have  come  up  to-day  to  one  of  these 
high  places  to  commune  together.  We  have  met  from 
many  a  portion  of  our  common  country,  and  this  great 
assemblage  testifies,  not  less  by  its  numbers,  than  by  the 
imposing  circumstances  which  surround  it,  that  there 
is  here  passing  one  of  those  scenes  which  mark  the  pro- 
gress of  society,  and  which  form  its  character,  and 
oftentimes  its  destiny.  And  so  it  is,  and  it  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here.  We  have  not  come  to  fight  a  battle,  nor 


282  LIVING     ORATOU3    IN    AMERICA. 

to  commemorate  one — we  have  not  come  to  worship 
at  the  shrine  of  power,  to  celebrate  the  birth  or  the 
death  of  some  unworthy  ruler,  the  last  step  in  political 
degradation.  Nor  have  we  come  to  commence,  to 
complete,  nor  to  commemorate  some  useless  but  im- 
posing structure,  erected  by  pride,  but  paid  for  by  pov- 
erty. 1  would  not,  however,  be  misunderstood.  Far 
be  it  from  us  to  censure  or  to  check  those  feelings  of 
love  of  country,  or  of  religion,  which  seek  their  out- 
pourings in  the  erection  of  memorials  upon  spots  which 
have  drank  the  blood  of  the  patriot  or  of  the  martyr.  It 
is  a  tribute  of  virtue,  which  honors  the  dead  and  the 
living.  But  let  it  be  voluntary.  Then  it  will  neither 
be  unjust  in  its  object,  nor  oppressive  in  its  accomplish- 
ment. It  will  teach  a  lesson  to  after  ages,  which  may 
stimulate  virtue  to  action,  and  give  fortitude  to  endure 
till  the  day  of  deliverance  comes  with  its  struggle  and 
its  reward.  Look  at  the  mighty  Pyramids,  which  rise 
over  the  Arabian  and  the  Libyan  wastes,  and  which 
cast  their  shadow  far  in  the  desert,  mocking  the  re- 
searches and  the  pride  of  man.  They  tell  no  tale  but 
the  old  tale  of  oppression.  They  speak  in  their  very 
massiveness,  of  pride  and  power  on  the  one  side,  and 
misery  and  poverty  on  the  other.  One  of  the  little 
channels  which  the  Fellah  has  diverted  from  the  great 
river  at  their  base,  and  which  spreads  verdure  and  fer- 
tility over  the  valley,  that  owes  so  much  to  God,  and  so 
little  to  man,  is  far  dearer  to  the  oppressed  population, 
than  these  useless  and  mighty  structures. 

"  Our  eastern  brethren,  with  the  characteristic  liber- 
alitv  and  patriotism,  which  make  the  descendants  of  the 


LEWIS    CASS.  2S3 

pilgrims  proud  of  the  land  of  their  ancestors,  have  just 
completed  and  dedicated  a  monument  to  mark  the  site 
of  the  battle,  which  opened  the  greatest  contest  between 
a  powerful  empire  and  her  young  and  distant  provinces, 
and  whose  influence,  if  it  did  not  give  to  the  Revolution 
its  fortunate  issue,  impressed  its  character  upon  the 
whole  struggle.  We  have  no  such  place  to  hallow ;  but 
we  have  the  people  to  do  the  deeds  by  which  places  are 
sanctified,  and  where  the  pilgrims  of  liberty  come,  not 
to  worship  but  to  reflect.  We  have  not  the  wealth  nor 
those  '  appliances,'  by  which  the  long  and  imposing  pro- 
cession, and  the  gorgeous  pageantry,  which  a  great  city 
can  arrange  and  display,  affect,  and  almost  subdue,  the 
imagination.  We  have  not  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
republic,  with  his  official  counsellors,  to  mark,  as  it 
were,  with  a  national  character,  the  occasion  of  our  as- 
semblage. Nor  have  we  constructed  an  obelisk,  simple 
and  severe  in  its  style,  but  lasting  as  the  deeds  it  com- 
memorates, whose  foundation  is  laid  in  the  graves  of 
martyred  patriots,  but  whose  summit  rises  towards  the 
heavens,  telling  the  story  of  their  fall,  and  proclaiming 
the  gratitude  of  their  countrymen.  But  there  are  here 
stout  hearts  and  strong  hands ;  thousands,  who  would 
devote  themselves,  as  did  the  men  of  Bunker  Hill,  to 
the  cause  of  freedom,  and  who  would  fight  as  they 
fought,  and  die  as  they  died,  should  their  country  de- 
mand the  sacrifice.  On  the  face  of  the  globe,  liberty 
has  no  more  zealous  defenders,  nor  patriotism  more 
ardent  votaries,  than  is  this  great  assembly,  the  convo- 
cation of  a  people,  who  have  made  this  region  their  own 
by  all  the  ties  that  bio.d  a  man  to  his  home,  and  who 


284  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

will  defend  it,  and  the  institutions  which  belong  to  it, 
by  all  the  means  that  energy  and  intelligence  and  de- 
votedness  have  ever  brought  to  the  great  day  of  trial, 
and  by  which  they  have  made  it  a  day  of  triumph. 

"We  have  come  here  to  join  in  another  commemo- 
ration. To  witness  the  union  of  the  lakes  and  of  the 
Mississippi.  To  survey  one  of  the  noblest  works  of 
man  in  the  improvement  of  that  great  highway  of  na- 
ture, extending  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans,  whose 
full  moral  and  physical  effects  it  were  vain  to  seek 
even  to  conjecture. 

"And  fitly  chosen  is  the  day  of  this  celebration. 
This  work  is  another  ligament,  which  binds  together 
this  great  confederated  Republic.  Providence  has  given 
us  union,  and  many  motives  to  preserve  it.  The  sun 
never  shown  upon  a  country  abounding  more  than  ours 
does,  in  all  the  elements  of  prosperity.  It  were  need- 
less to  enumerate  the  advantages  we  enjoy,  and  which 
give  us  so  distinguished  a  position  among  the  nations 
of  the  world.  They  are  seen  and  felt  in  all  those  evi- 
dences of  prosperity  and  improvement,  which  greet  the 
traveller  wherever  he  passes  through  our  country. 
And  still  more  striking  are  they  when  we  contrast  our 
situation  with  that  of  the  older  regions  of  the  world.  I 
shall  not  enter  into  the  comparison.  I  could  speak  of  it 
from  personal  knowledge,  but  the  task  would  not  be  a 
pleasant  one,  for  it  would  recall  many  a  cause  of  dis- 
content, and  many  a  scene  of  misery,  which  meet  the 
eye  of  the  most  careless  observer,  who  exchanges  the 
new  hemisphere  for  the  old.  An  American,  who  does 
not  return  to  his  own  country  a  wiser  man  and  a  better 


LEWIS    CASS.  285 

citizen,  and  prouder,  and  more  contented,  for  all  he  has 
seen  abroad,  may  well  doubt  his  own  head  or  heart, 
and  may  well  be  doubted  by  his  countrymen. 

"  Still,  it  is"  not  to  be  disguised  that,  from  the  very 
constitution  'of  human  nature  causes  may  occasionally 
exist,  tending  to  weaken,  though  they  cannot  sever,  the 
bonds  which  unite  us ;  and  happy  is  it  that  these  causes 
may  be  counteracted,  and  ultimately,  we  may  hope, 
rendered  powerless,  by  measures  now  in  progress,  which 
will  add  the  ties  of  interest  to  the  dictates  of  patriotism. 
Our  railroads  and  canals  are  penetrating  every  section 
of  our  territory.  They  are  annihilating  time  and  space. 
They  %re  embracing  in  their  folds  the  ocean  and  the 
lake  frontiers,  and  the  great  region  extending  from  the 
Alleghany  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  through  which  the 
mighty  Mississippi  and  its  countless  tributaries  find  their 
way  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Once  let  this  work  be 
completed,  and  we  are  bound  together  by  cords  which 
no  strength  can  sunder.  The  moral  and  political  effect, 
therefore,  of  the  great  work  before  us,  is  even  more  im- 
portant than  the  physical  advantages  it  promises.  It 
will  bear  upon  its  bosom  the  products  of  a  thousand 
fertile  valleys,  and  it  will  spread  gladness  and  prosperity 
over  regions  which  have  just  been  rescued  from  the  In- 
dians, and  frorn^  the  animals,  his  co-tenants  of  the  forest, 
which  minister  to  his  wants.  But  it  will  do  more  than 
this.  It  will  make  glad  the  heart  of  the  patriot.  As  he 
sails  along  it,  he  will  see,  not  merely  the  evidences  and 
the  cause  of  wealth  and  prosperity,  but  one  of  the  ties 
which  knit  us  together.  By  a  process  more  fortunate 
than  alchyrnist  ever  imagined,  the  feeblest  element  will 


286  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

be  converted  into  the  strongest  bond.  It  will  bear  the 
boat  and  its  freight  to  a  market,  where  products  may  be 
interchanged  and  wealth  acquired.  But  it  will  inter- 
change interests  and  feelings  which  no  wealth  can  pur- 
chase, and  for  which  no  price  can  pay.  Well,  then, 
may  we  rejoice  upon  this  day.  The  occasion  and  the 
time  are  in  unison  together.  And  while  we  thank  God 
for  the  services  and  sacrifices  which  he  enabled  our 
fathers  to  make  in  the  acquisi*:^n  of  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence, let  us  thank  him,  also,  that  we  are  able  to 
strengthen  their  work,  and  to  transmit  to  our  children, 
as  they  transmitted  to  theirs,  the  noblest  inheritance 
that  belongs  to  man.  The  ark  of  the  Constitution  is  yet 
untouched.  Withered  be  the  hand  that  would  pollute  it." 

After  a  graphic  and  eloquent  sketch  of  what  had 
transpired  on  that  spot  within  less  than  two  centuries, 
he  proceeds  with  some  statements  which  are  interesting 
from  their  auto-biographical,  as  well  as  historical  char- 
acter. Says  he : 

"  It  is  now  forty-three  years  since  I  landed  upon  the 
northern  shore  of  Ohio,  a  young  adventurer  seeking  the 
land  of  promise ;  which  has  been  to  him,  as  to  many 
others,  the  land  of  performance.  At  that  time,  the 
Territory  of  Indiana  was  not  organized,  and  the  States 
of  Ohio,  of  Indiana,  of  Illinois,  and  of  Michigan,  and  the 
Territory  of  Wisconsin,  formed  one  government,  under 
the  name  of  the  North- Western  Territory." 

Passing  over  a  vivid  description  of  the  horrors  of  In- 
dian warfare,  we  come  to  the  following  description  : 

"  Nature  has  been  prodigal  of  her  favors  to  the  val- 
ley of  the  Maumee.  I  can  never  forget  the  first  time  it 


LEWIS    CAS8.  287 

met  my  eye.  It  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  late 
war,  when  the  troops,  destined  for  the  defence  of  De- 
troit, had  passed  through  the  forest  from  Urbanna,  to 
the  Rapids.  The  season  had  been  \vet,  and  much  of 
the  country  was  low,  and  the  whole  of  it  unbroken  by 
a  single  settlement,  and  we  had  cut  our  road,  and  trans- 
ported our  provisions  and  baggage,  with  great  labor  and 
difficulty.  We  were  heartily  tired  of  the  march,  and 
were  longing  for  its  termination,  when  we  attained  the 
brow  of  the  table  land,  through  which  the  Maumee  has 
made  a  passage  for  itself,  and  a  fertile  region  for  those 
who  have  the  good  fortune  to  occupy  it.  Like  the 
mariner,  we  felt  that  we  had  reached  a  port;  like  the 
wanderer,  a  home.  I  have  since  visited  the  three  other 
quarters  of  the  globe,  and  passed  over  many  lands  and 
seas.  But  my  memory  still  clings  to  the  prospect  which 
burst  upon  us,  in  a  bright  day  in  June,  from  the  valley 
of  the  Maumee ;  to  the  river,  winding  away  beyond 
our  view ;  to  the  rapids,  presenting  every  form  of  the 
most  picturesque  objects ;  to  the  banks,  clothed  with 
deep  verdure ;  and  to  the  rich  bottoms,  denuded  of  tim- 
ber, as  though  inviting  the  labor  and  enterprise  of  the 
settler." 

He  proceeds  to  give  interesting  details  of  the  weary 
modes  of  travelling  to  which  the  early  inhabitants  were 
subjected,  passes  a  fine  encomium  on  the  enterprise 
which  had  opened  such  improved  facilities  through  the 
new  canal,  and  forcibly  illustrates  the  feasibility  and  im- 
portance of  such  improvements. 

The  progress  of  great  American  enterprises,  and  the 


288  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

impressions    they  produce    on  European  nations,   are 
well  stated  in  the  following  extract : 

"  It  is  but  a  few  years  since  our  attention  was  sys- 
tematically turned  to  the  improvement  of  our  means  of 
internal  communication.  The  first  impulse  was  given 
by  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  projection  and  com- 
mencement of  her  great  work,  an  evidence  alike  of  her 
energy  and  wisdom,  and  an  enduring  monument  of  her 
perseverance,  and  of  which  the  whole  country  is  now 
gathering  the  fruits.  Since  then,  many  other  States, 
unwilling  to  be  left  behind  in  the  career  of  advance- 
ment, have  followed  the  same  route,  and  everywhere 
canals  and  railroads  have  sprung  into  existence,  facili- 
tating the  communication  between  the  most  distant  parts 
of  the  country,  and  ministering  to  those  wants  of  inter- 
course, which  are  at  once  the  cause  and  the  effect  of 
active  exertion  and  of  commercial  prosperity.  Our 
social  and  political  institutions  and  our  national  charac- 
ter, alternately  operating  upon  each  other,  have  never 
achieved  a  prouder  triumph,  nor  furnished  a  more  irre- 
fragable proof  of  their  tendency  to  promote  human  hap- 
piness, than  in  this  peaceful  victory  over  the  natural 
impediments  which  divided,  though  they  could  not  sepa- 
rate us,  and  which  has  increased  our  capacity  for  de- 
fence, as  much  as  it  has  added  to  our  stock  of  wealth. 
The  fate  of  republican  institutions  is  in  our  hands.  If 
the  great  experiment,  as  it  is  elsewhere  and  tauntingly 
called,  but  which  every  American  knows  is  no  longer 
an  experiment,  that  is  in  progress  among  us,  of  the 
power  of  man  to  govern  himself  should  fail,  ages  may 
pass  away  before  the  rights  and  safety  of  all  are  again 


LEWIS    CASS.  280 

.'    '-"./  (''"'.'      '  •'.  .    ..  •    *'  V.JP-. 

committed  to  the  custody  of  all.  Fortunate  it  is,  there- 
fore, when  the  operation  of  Our  system  can  be  pre- 
sented to  the  old  world  in  a  point  of  view,  in  which  it 
can  be  examined  and  appreciated,  by  being  brought  into 
comparison  with  the  effects  of  the  institutions  that 
prevailed  there.  No  effort  of  this  country,  in  its  onward 
march,  has  awakened  more  attention,  or  excited  more 
admiration,  than  the  successful  progress  we  have  made 
in  this  great  enterprise — this  greatest  of  enterprises  in 
the  history  of  internal  improvement.  The  geographical 
maps  make  known  the  gigantic  features  of  our  confede- 
ration, and  the  statistical  tables  and  the  reports  of  trav- 
ellers made  known  the  communications,  natural  arid 
artificial,  by  which  it  is  knit  together. 

"  The  works,  both  of  nature  and  of  man,  are  oil  a 
scale  of  proportion  unknown  in  that  part  of  the  world. 
Rivers  traversing  the  earth  from  the  artic  to  the  tropi- 
cal' regions;  lakes,  or  rather  seas,  where  navies  have 
rode,  and  victories  been  gained ;  railroads  extending 
from  the  Atlantic  to  Lake  Erie,  a  distance  of  five  hun- 
dred miles,  and  intersecting  the  country  in  all  important 
directions  ;  and  canals  penetrating  our  valleys,  and  as- 
cending our  mountains,  and  forming  one  after  another; 
great  lines  of  communication  which  Would  circumscribe 
many  a  European  kingdom.  And  before  these  works 
the  forest  gives  way.  They  are  not  confined  to  the 
more  densely  peopled  portions  of  our  country,  but  like 
the  hardy  settler,  they  are  marching  with  giant  strides 
towards  the  remote  frontier.  Already  they  have  passed 
the  cabin  of  the  pioneer  of  improvement,  d"jd  the  hut  of 
the  Indian.  They  remove  from  their  pa.ft  the  lofty  and 


290  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

primeval  trees,  the  relics  of  a  former  age,  and  the  con- 
temporaries, perhaps,  and  witnesses  of  strange  events 
forever  lost  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world  ;  and  before 
them  our  primitive  people  are  receding,  and  seeking  a 
new  home,  where  the  approach  of  the  white  man  may 
be  delayed,  but  cannot  be  prevented.  It  is  a  popular 
remark  with  the  Indians,  that  when  the  bee  comes 
among  them,  it  is  soon,  followed  by  the  big  knives.  But 
there  is  now  another  precursor,  which  announces  to  the 
secluded  village  that  the  civilized  stranger  is  at  hand, 
propelled  by  some  monster,  whose  fearful  sound  precedes 
him,  and  which,  ascending  the  solitary  stream,  pene- 
trates the  recesses  of  the  forest,  and  proclaims  to  its 
tenants,  that  ere  long  their  council  houses  will  become 
desolate,  and  the  plough  will  pass  over  the  graves  of 
their  fathers. 

"  In  Europe  this  is  a  rate  of  progress  utterly  un- 
known, and  comprehended  with  difficulty.  There  they 
deliberate,  while  here  we  act.  If  more  caution  would 
give  more  certainty  of  success,  it  would  take  from  the 
energy  of  purpose,  and  of  action,  which  has  carried  us 
forward  in  our  career,  both  physically  and  morally,  with 
a  rapidity  unknown  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and 
which  opens  to  a  future,  cheering  to  the  heart  of  the 
patriot,  and  encouraging  to  the  lover  of  humanity.  It  is 
that  energy  which,  if  it  commit  faults,  can  repair  them 
— which  always  operating,  is  never  discomfitted ;  ac- 
complishing its  projects  when  practicable,  and  turn- 
ing to  others  with  equal  confidence  and  perseverance, 
when  checked  by  insuperable  difficulties." 

The   closing   portion  of  this   admirable  oration  we 


LEWIS    CASS.  291 

quote  at  length.     It  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  author's 
style,  and  is  too  good  to  be  abbreviated. 

"  We  come  here  to  rejoice  together.  Memorable 
deeds  make  memorable  days.  There  is  a  power  of  asso- 
ciation given  to  man,  which  binds  together  the  past  and 
the  present,  aud  connects  both  with  the  future.  Great 
events  hallow  the  sites  where  they  pass.  Then  return- 
ing anniversaries,  so  long  as  these  are  remembered,  are 
kept  with  sorrow  or  joy,  as  they  were  prosperous  or 
adverse.  To-day  a  new  work  is  born — a  work  of  peace 
and  not  of  ^war.  We  are  celebrating  the  triumph  of 
art,  and  not  of  arms.  Centuries  hence,  we  may  hope 
that  the  river  you  have  made,  will  still  flow  east  and 
west,  bearing  upon  its  bosom  the  riches  of  a  prosperous 
people,  and  that  our  descendants  will  come  to  keep  the 
day,  which  we  have  come  to  mark,  and  that  as  it  returns 
they  will  remember  the  exertions  of  their  ancestors 
while  they  gather  the  harvest.  Associations  are  power- 
ful in  the  older  regions  of  the  eastern  continent,  and 
strongly  affect  the  imagination.  They  belong,  however, 
to  the  past.  Here,  they  are  strong  and  vigorous,  and 
belong  to  the  future.  There,  hope  is  extinct,  and  history 
has  closed  its  record.  Time  has  done  its  work.  Here 
we  have  no  past;  all  has  been  done  within  the  mem- 
ory of  man.  Our  province  of  action  is  the  present,  of 
contemplation,  the  future.  No  man  can  stand  upon  the 
scene  of  one  of  those  occurrences  which  has  produced 
a  decisive  effect  upon  the  fate  of  nations,  and  which 
history  has  rendered  familiar  to  us  from  youth,  without 
being  withdrawn  from  the  influence  of  the  present,  and 
carried  back  to  the  period  of  conflict,  of  doubt,  and  of 


292  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

success,  which  attend  some  mighty  struggle.  All  this 
is  the  triumph  of  mind,  the  exertion  of  intellect,  which 
elevates  us  in  the  scale  of  being,  and  furnishes  us  with 
another  and  pure  source  of  enjoyment.  Even  recent 
events,  around  which  time  has  not  gathered  its  shadows, 
sanctify  the  places  of  their  origin.  What  American 
can  survey  the  field  of  battle  at  Bunker  Hill,  or  at  New 
Orleans,  without  recalling  the  deeds  which  will  render 
these  names  imperishable  ?  Who  can  pass  the  islands 
of  Lake  Erie,  without  thinking  upon  those  who  sleep 
in  the  waters  below,  and  upon  the  victory  which  broke 
the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  led  to  the  security  of  an 
extensive  frontier?  There  no  monument  can  be 
erected,  for  the  waves  roll,  and  will  roll  over  them. 
But  he  who  met  the  enemy  and  made  them  ours,  and 
his  devoted  companions,  will  live  in  the  recollections  of 
the  American  people,  while  there  is  virtue  to  admire, 
patriotism  or  gratitude  to  reward  it.  I  have  stood  upon 
the  plain  of  Marathon,  the  battle-field  of  liberty.  It  is 
silent  and  desolate.  Neither  Greek  nor  Persian  is  there, 
to  give  life  and  animation  to  the  scene.  It  is  bounded 
by  sterile  hills  on  one  side,  and  lashed  by  the  eternal 
waves  of  the  Egean  Sea  on  the  other.  But  Greek  and 
Persian  were  once  there,  and  that  dreary  spot  was  alive 
with  hostile  armies,  who  fought  the  great  fight  which 
rescued  Greece  from  the  yoke  of  Persia. 

"  And  I  have  stood  also  upon  the  hill  of  Zion,  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  the  scene  of  our  Redeemer's  sufferings 
and  crucifixion,  and  ascension.  But  the  sceptre  has 
departed  from  Judah,  and  its  glory  from  the  capital  ot 
Solomon.  The  Assyrian,  the  Egyptian,  the  Greek,  the 


LEWIS    CASS.  293 

Roman,  the  Arab,  the  Turk,  and  the  Crusader,  have 
passed  over  this  chief  place  of  Israel,  and  have  reft  it  of 
its  power  and  beauty.  Well  has  the  denunciation  of 
the  prophet  of  misfortunes  been  fulfilled,  when  he  de- 
clared that  '  the  Lord  had  set  his  face  against  this  city 
for  evil  and  not  for  good ;'  when  he  pronounced  the 
words  of  the  Most  High,  '  I  will  cause  to  cease  from  the 
city  of  Judah,  and  from  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  the 
voice  of  mirth  and  the  voice  of  gladness,  the  voice  of 
the  bridegroom,  and  the  voice  of  the  bride  ;  for  the  land 
shall  be  desolate.' 

"In  those  regions  of  the  east  where  society  passed  its 
infancy,  it  seems  to  have  reached  decrepitude.  If  the 
association,  which  the  memory  of  the  past  glory  excites, 
are  powerful,  they  are  melancholy.  They  are  without 
joy  for  the  present,  and  without  hope  for  the  future. 
But  here  we  are  in  the  freshness  of  youth,  and  can  look 
forward,  with  national  confidence,  to  ages  of  progress 
in  all  that  gives  power  and  pride  to  man,  and  dignity  to 
human  nature.  No  deeds  of  glory  hallow  this  region. 
But  nature  has  been  bountiful  to  it  in  its  best  gifts,  and 
art  and  industry  are  at  work  to  extend  and  improve 
them.  You  cannot  pierce  the  barrier  which  shuts  in 
the  past,  and  separates  you  from  the  great  highway  of 
nations.  You  have  opened  a  vista  to  the  Atlantic  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  From  this  elevated  point,  two  seas 
are  before  us,  which  your  energy  and  perseverance  have 
brought  within  reach.  It  is  better  to  look  forward  to 
prosperity  than  back  to  glory.  To  the  mental  eye  no 
prospect  can  be  more  magnificent  than  here  meets  the 
vision.  I  need  not  stop  to  describe  it.  It  is  before  us 


294  LtVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

in  the  long  regions  of  fertile  land,  which  stretch  off  to 
the  east  and  west,  to  the  north  and  south,  in  all  the  ad- 
vantages that  Providence  has  liberally  bestowed  upon 
them,  and  in  the  changes  and  improvements  which 
man  is  making.  The  forest  is  fading  and  falling,  and 
towns  and  villages  are  rising  and  flourishing.  And  bet- 
ter still,  a  moral,  intelligent,  and  industrious  people  are 
spreading  themselves  over  the  whole  face  of  the  country, 
and  making  it  their  own  and  their  home.  And  what 
changes  and  chances  await  us?  Shall  we  go  on 
increasing  and  improving,  and  united  ?  or  shall  we  add 
another  to  the  list  of  republics,  which  have  preceded 
us,  and  which  have  fallen  the  victims  of  their  own  fol- 
lies and  dissentions  ?  My  faith  in  the  stability  of  our 
institutions  is  enduring, my  hope  is  strong;  for  they  rest 
upon  public  virtue  and  intelligence.  There  is  no  por- 
tion of  our  country  more  interested  in  their  preserva- 
tion than  this,  and  no  one  more  able  and  willing  to  main- 
tain them.  We  may  here  claim  to  occupy  the  citadel 
of  freedom.  No  foreign  foe  can  approach  us  ;  and  while 
the  west  is  true  to  itself  and  its  country,  its  example  will 
exert  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  whole  confedera- 
tion, and  its  strength,  if  need  be,  will  defend  it." 

Since  the  above  oration  was  delivered,  General  Cass 
has  for  some  time  been  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Senate.  The  reputation  he  has -born  therein,  and  be- 
fore the  country,  as  a  sagacious,  patriotic  and  eloquent 
debater  is  of  a  high  order.  But  our  limits  will  not  ad- 
mit any  more  examples.  In  what  remains,  we  shall 
submit  a  few  remarks  on  the  particular  trait  in  this  ora 
tor,  his  courtesy. 


LEWIS    CA8S.  295 

In  all  his  private  intercourse  with  men,  and  deport- 
ment towards  nations,  our  distinguished  countryman 
has  rarely  been  accused  of  being  severe,  and  then  it  was 
evidently  from  patriotic  considerations,  and  not  from 
personal  disrespect. 

We  have  seen  what  a  large  number  of  difficult  treaties 
with  western  savages  General  Gass  had  occasion  to  ne- 
gociate,  and  with  what  success  he  performed  the  task. 
In  the  war  department,  in  executive  functions  and 
foreign  diplomacy,  he  has  ben  equally  efficient  and  suc- 
cessful. This  is  to  be  explained,  in  a  great  measure,  by 
the  fact,  that  his  kindness  of  manner  is  calculated  to 
conciliate  an  honorable  concurrence  not  less  than  his 
firmness  tends  to  command  respect.  This  is  the  quality 
so  justly  celebrated  by  Cicero,  in  his  offices,  at  the  opening 
of  the  fourteenth  section  of  the  second  book :  "  But  of 
speaking  or  discourse  there  are  two  sorts ;  the  one  proper 
only  for  common  conversation,  the  other,  for  pleadings 
and  debates  in  public.  Of  these  two,  the  latter,  which 
is  what  we  call  eloquence,  is  apparently  more  powerful 
towards  the  attainment  of  glory  ;  but  yet  it  is  inexpressi- 
ble of  what  influence  courtesy  and  affability  are,  in  the 
business  of  obtaining  men's  love  and  affections.  There 
are  extant  letters  of  Philip  to  Alexander,  Antipater  to 
Cassander,  and  Antigonus  to  Philip;  in  which  these 
most  wise  and  prudent  princes  (for  such  we  are  told  they 
really  were)  advise  each  his  son  to  speak  kindly  to  the 
multitude,  and  try  to  win  the  hearts  of  both  them  and 
the  soldiers  by  gentle  words  and  familiar  appellations." 

A    public    man    will    be    likely   to  succeed  in  his 
career,  just  so  far  as  he  practices  that  kind  of  demea- 


296  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

nor,  which  benevolence  dictates,  ana  prudence  con- 
firms. By  being  cautious  of  insulting  the  weakest, 
and  ever  ready  to  oblige  the  lowest,  he  will  exemplify  a 
generosity  that  is  sure  to  engross  the  good  will  of  all  bo 
neath  him,  while  he  at  the  same  time  attains  habits  of 
forbearance  and  fortitude  which  constitute  the  best  safe- 
guard against  all  the  malice  of  the  ignoble  great.  He 
who,  from  native  generosity,  would  not  bruise  a  worm, 
will  be  the  slowest  to  incur  the  venom  of  a  serpent ;  and 
when  maliciously  stung,  will  find  no  small  mitigation  of 
his  pangs  in  the  sympathies  of  all  the  magnanimous  and 
good.  Says  old  Bishop  Hall,  "  There  is  an  affable  fami- 
liarity that  becometh  greatness.  It  is  not  good  for  emi- 
nent persons  to  stand  always  upon  the  height  of  their 
state;  but  so  to  behave  themselves,  that  as  their  social 
carriage  may  not  breed  contempt,  so  their  over-highness 
may  not  breed  a  servile  fearfulness  in  their  people.  Cer- 
emonies of  respectfulness,  though  they  be  in  themselves 
slight  and  arbitrary,  yet  the  neglect  of  them,  in  some 
cases  may  undergo  a  dangerous  construction.  How 
well  it  becomes  the  great  to  stoop  unto  a  courteous  affa- 
bility, and  to  exchange  words  of  respect,  even  with 
their  humble  vassals !" 

To  cultivate  a  disposition  to  please  and  oblige  our 
fellow  creatures  is  to  conform  to  the  scriptural  injunc- 
ti0»,  "  be  courteous" — "  be  gentle  to  all  men," — and  in 
this  respect,  especially,  General  Cass  is  worthy  of  being 
emulated  by  every  public  or  private  individual.  He  has 
learned  that  to  refuse  graciously  what  he  cannot  grant 
honestly,  and  to  conciliate  those  whom  it  is  impossible 
or  unjust  to  subdue,  is  the  instrument  of  best  service  and 


LEWIS  cAsa.  297 

••  :*4  * 
the  means  of  most  good.     To  many  persons  it  doubtless 

seemed  ludicrous  in  the  citizens  of  obscure  Megara, 
when  they  offered  the  freedom  of  their  city  to  Alexan- 
der, who  had  conquered  the  world;  but  it  was  a  mark 
of  true  sagacity,  as  well  as  true  nobility,  in  him,  to 
receive  this  tribute  of  their  respect  with  complacency,  on 
being  told  that  they  had  never  offered  it  to  any  but  to  Her- 
cules and  himself.  Hollow  trees  are  always  the  stiffest ; 
but  the  mightiest  oak,  if  sound,  can  bend.  The  more 
exalted  a  man  is  by  station,  the  more  powerful  should  he 
be  by  kindness;  in  life  and  in  death,  he  should  strive  to 
deserve  the  encomium  pronounced  on  Patroclus  by  the 
great  Atrides :. 

"  How  skilled  he  was  in  each  obliging  art ; 
The  mildest  manners,  and  the  gentlest  heart." 

Nothing,  however,  can  constitute  good  breeding  that 
has  not  good  nature  for  its  foundation,  and  comprehen- 
sive goodness  for  its  main  design.  The  courtesy  it  em- 
ploys is  real,  and  not  superficial ;  it  is  the  deep  and  pro- 
lific source  of  refined  manners,  polite  action,  kind  words 
and  beneficent  deeds-  It  has  a  potent  influence  in  the 
~'orld.  Though  it  cannot  of  itself  alone  create  a  good 
name,  nor  absolutely  supply  the  want  of  it;  yet  it  is  a 
quality  which  strongly  attracts  to  its  possessor  the. 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  classes  of  mankind.  There 
is  no  policy  like  politeness,  since  a  good  manner  often 
succeeds  where  the  best  logic  has  failed.  Moreover 
this  is  an  attribute  which  may  be  employed  as  effect- 
ively to  correct  the  unworthy  as  it  is  most  useful  to 
inspire  confidence  in  the  timid  and  encourage  the  de- 
13* 


^yo  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

serving.  "Nothing  sharpens  the  arrow  of  sarcasm  sc 
keenly,  as  the  same  courtesy  that  polishes  it,  and  noth- 
ing exposes  and  arrests  impertinence  so  efficaciously  as 
the  contrast  presented  by  amenity.  No  reproach  is  like 
that  we  clothe  with  a  smile  and  present  with  a  bow." 
A  fine  illustration  of  this  truth  is  presented  in  the  fourth 
book  of  Paradise  Lost.  The  reproof  which  the  devil 
most  keenly  felt,  was  that  which  was  most  respectfully 
oresented : 

"  So  spake  the  cherub ;  and  his  grave  rebuke, 
Severe  in  youthful  beauty,  added  grace 
Invincible  ;  abash'd  the  devil  stood, 
And  felt  how  awful  goodness  is,  and  saw 
Virtue,  in  her  shape  how  lovely;  saw  and  pin'd 
His  loss;  but  chiefly  to  find  here  observ'd 
His  lustre  visibly  impaired  ;  yet  seem'd 
Undaunted." 

It  should  be  particularly  observed  that  gentleness  is 
not  weakness.  A  mind  that  is  addicted  only  to  fawning 
and  flattery  will  never  honor  truth  and  duty  by  an  alle- 
giance based  on  principle  and  adorned  by  true  noble- 
ness of  spirit.  Such  an  unsubstantial  character  can  no 
more  be  made  to  assume  the  aspect  of  real  politeness, 
than  a  sponge,  or  a  fungus  of  any  sort  can  be  polished 
like  a  diamond  or  gold.  Lead  may  be  heavy  enough  for 
many  useful  purposes,  but  it  is  too  unsubstantial  and' 
worthless  to  be  coined  into  the  currency  of  a  nation  ;  and 
so  of  the  public  men  it  symbolizes,  they  are  too  stupid 
to  be  trusted,  and  too  uncouth  to  be  admired.  But  true 
greatness  is  always  sympathetic  and  generous.  Homer, 
that  just  observer  of  nature,  makes  no  scruple  to  repre- 


LEWIS    CASS.  299 

sent  Ulysses — his  best  of  men;  and  Achilles — his 
bravest  of  men,  frequently  in  tears.  Jonathan  and 
David  were  the  most  heroical  men  of  their  age ;  yet 
they  wept  on  each  other's  neck,  till,  each  exceeded. 
And  what  a  lesson  do  we  learn  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus ! 
He  whose  disposition  is  most  favorable  to  the  produc- 
tion of  happiness  within  himself,  is  of  necessity  and  nat- 
urally most  agreeable  to  others ;  and  these  common  qual- 
ities of  pleasing  and  being  pleased  mutually  react  upon 
and  generate  each  other.  "  The  great  boast  of  polished 
life,"  says  Jeffry,  "  is  the  delicacy,  and  even  the  gen- 
erosity of  its  hostility — that  quality  which  is  still  the 
characteristic,  as  it  furnishes  the  denomination,  of  a 
gentleman — that  principle  which  forbids  us  to  attack  the 
defenseless,  to  strike  the  fallen,  or  to  mangle  the  slain — 
and  enjoins  us,  in  forging  the  shafts  of  satire,  to  increase 
the  polish  exactly  as  we  add  to  their  keenness  or  their 
weight."  In  his  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Dryden 
speaks  on  this  topic  in  his  own  rich,  characteristic  style. 
Says  he,  "  Gold,  as  it  is  the  purest,  so  it  is  the  softest  and 
most  ductile  of  all  metals.  Iron,  which  is  the  hardest, 
gathers  rust,  corrodes  itself,  and  is  therefore  subject  to 
corruption  :  it  was  never  intended  for  coins  and  medals, 
or  to  bear  the  faces  and  inscriptions  of  the  great.  In- 
deed, it  is  fit  for  armor,  to  bear  off  insults,  and  preserve 
the  wearer  in  the  day  of  battle ;  but  the  danger  once 
repelled,  it  is  laid  aside  by  the  brave,  as  a  garment  too 
rough  for  civil  conversation — a  necessary  guard  in  war, 
but  too  harsh  and  cumbersome  in  peace,  and  which 
keeps  off  the  embraces  of  a  more  humane  life.' 


300  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

The  mild  courtesy  of  a  truly  generous  heart,  r  reduces 
gracious  manners,  as  genial  sunshine  and  dew  elicit  the 
verdure  and  odors  of  earth,  imparting  alike  to  opening 
flower  and  benignant  character,  a  most  captivating 
charm.  But  when  urbanity  is  separated  from  religious 
charity,  it  is  rather  the  law  of  strife  than  a  treaty  of 
peace  between  men ;  since,  without  that  divine  virtue, 
a  man  may  appear  courteous  at  times,  while,  as  St. 
Bernard  said  of  Peter  Abailard,  he  is  unlike  himself — 
externally  a  John,  and  within  a  Herod.  Even  his  appa- 
rent kindness  will  be  employed  habitually  with  the  inten- 
tion of  injuring  more  deeply.  Don  Alonzo,  king  of 
Naples,  hearing  one  day  a  certain  man  praising  his  ene- 
my, "  remark,"  said  he  "  the  artifice  of  the  man,  and 
you  will  see  that  his  praises  are  only  for  the  purpose  of 
doing  him  more  harm."  The  event  verified  the  predic- 
tion. Indeed,  along  with  native  generosity  of  heart, 
nothing  but  the  love  of  God  and  the  direction  of  the 
secret  purpose  to  his  glory  in  the  general  welfare,  can 
be  the  source  of  real,  sincere  and  lasting  courtesy.  It 
was  set  forth  in  no  mean  light  by  Homeric  Nestor,  who 
received  the  two  strangers  with  such  kindness,  although 
he  thought  in  his  mind  that  thev  might  be  robbers  who 
passed  over  the  watery  ways,  bearing  evil  to  men  of 
other  nations.  But  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  pre- 
sents a  much  higher  and  better  example  when,  writing 
to  Philemon  concerning  his  poor  servant  Onesimus,  he 
says,  "  If  he  hath  wronged  thee,  or  oweth  the  aught,  put 
that  on  mine  account.  I,  Paul,  have  written  it  with 
mine  own  hand,  I  will  repay  it."  This  is  the  gracious- 


LEWIS    CASS.  301 

ness  which  is  practically  useful,  and  which  all  should 
exemplify. 

"  Then  only  shows  of  kindness  have  their  worth, 
When  outward  courtesies  truly  declare 
The  heart  that  keeps  them.* 


CHAPTER  VIL 

THOMAS   H.  BENTON, 

THE  MAGISTERIAL. 

ABOUT  ten  years  since,  a  sketch  of  THOMAS  HART 
BENTON  was  presented  to  the  public  through  the  medium 
of  the  Democratic  Review.  From  that  work  we  extract 
the  subjoined  biographical  remarks,  preparatory  to  a 
yet  more  particular  survey  of  the  mental  and  oratorical 
character  of  our  distinguished  countryman. 

"  On  the  seventeenth  of  January,  1837,  at  the  close 
of  the  long  debate  which  had  taken  place  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  famous  '  expunging  resolu- 
tion,' shortly  before  the  vote  was  to  be  tajcen,  of  which 
the  issue  had  not  been  left  doubtful  by  the  previous  im- 
perative decision  of  public  opinion,  Col.  Benton,  of 
Missouri,  rose  in  his  place,  and,  addressing  himself  to 
the  Vice  President  in  the  chair,  in  the  course  of  a  brief, 
but  emphatic  speech,  referring  back  to  the  scene  whicn 
had  been  enacted  on  the  same  spot  three  eventful  years 
before,  on  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Clay's  memorable  reso- 
lution of  condemnation  of  the  late  President  for  the  re- 
moval of  the  deposites,  and  to  his  own  prophecy,  then 
fearlessly  hazarded,  that  that  resolution  should  oe  '  ex- 


.-Jk    <• 

J*',  •••*• 


S5T 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  303 

punged'  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  from  the 
journal  of  the  Senate,  uttered  the  following  well-known 
words,  which  have  become  imperishably  associated  with 
his  name: 

"  '  Solitary  and  alone  I  set  this  ball  in  motion  !'  " 
"  This  is  the  moment  that  the  artist  has  selected  as  the 
most  strikingly  illustrative  of  the  character  of  the  Sena- 
tor from  Missouri ;  and  no  one  who  has  ever  seen  and 
heard  Col.  Benton,  will  hesitate  in  recognizing  the  fea- 
tures, air,  and  attitude  of  the  '  Great  Expunger.' 

"  Col.  Benton  is  about  fifty-four  (64)  years  of  age. 
His  senatorial  life  dates  from  the  year  1820,  when  he 
was  elected  by  the  Legislature  of  Missouri,  before  the 
formal  admission  of  that  State  into  the  Union  by  Con- 
gress. He  had  removed  to  Missouri  about  five  years 
before,  from  Tennessee ;  where  he  had  immediately 
arisen  to  distinction  at  the  bar.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  Representatives  from  that  State  were  not  ad- 
mitted to  their  seats  in  Congress  till  the  succeeding  year. 
The  interval  Col.  Benton  devoted  to  study,  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  career  which  a  worthy  ambition  had  already, 
doubtless,  marked  out  before  him,  in  public  life.  Within 
that  time  he  made  himself  master,  in  particular,  of  the 
Spanish  language,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of  its 
literature. 

"  He  early  rose  to  a  prominent  position  in  the*  Sen- 
ate ;  and  his  speech  at  the  session  of  1823-4,  on  the  bill 
which  (as  chairman  of  a  select  committee)  he  intro- 
duced, to  amend  the  Constitution  with  respect  to  the 
mode  of  the  Presidential  election,  was  one  of  remarka- 
ble ability  and  force.  It  contained  but  one  erroneous 


304  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

position,  of  which  experience  was  not  long  in  demon- 
strating the  fallacy.  Though  he  was  opposed  to  the 
practice  of  choosing  the  Presidential  electors  by  general 
ticket,  or  by  the  legislatures  of  the  States,  as  he  was,  in 
fact,  to  the  whole  system  of  an  intermediate  electoral 
body  between  the  people  themselves,  and  the  object  of 
their  choice  for  that  high  dignity,  yet  he  was  in  favor 
of  the  umpirage  of  Congress,  in  the  case  of  a  failure  to 
elect  a  majority  candidate  by  the  people  on  the  first  trial, 
with  a  single  equal  vote  to  every  State,  without  refer- 
ence to  population.  This  was,  in  our  opinion,  carrying 
the  State-Rights'  principle  (our  sheet  anchor,  when  not 
abused,)  to  an  improper  extreme,  and  implied  a  confi- 
dence in  Congress,  for  the  exercise  of  that  dangerous 
power,  neither  justified  by  first  principles,  nor  by  subse- 
quent experience.  On  this  latter  point  he  found  him- 
self in  natural  opposition  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  being  re- 
presentatives, the  one  from  one  of  the  largest,  and  the 
other  from  one  of  the  least  populous  States  in  the  Union. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  then,  as  he  has  ever  since  been,  in 
favor  of  a  second  appeal  to  the  popular  vote.  In  the 
course  of  his  speech,  however,  Col.  Benton  paid  a 
handsome  personal  tribute  to  his  eminent  opponent. 
Col.  Benton  sat  on  the  same  committee  (Military  Affairs) 
with  General  Jackson,  of  which  they  were  both  very 
industrious  and  valuable  members,  the  latter  being  the 
chairman.  Here  was  necessarily  renewed  some  portion 
of  that  intercourse  which  had  in  former  years  been  of 
the  most  friendly  and  intimate  character,  but  which  had 
received  an  unhappy  interruption  from  an  occurrence 
too  well  known  to  the  public  to  need  further  allusion. 


THOMAS   H.    BENTON.  305 

It  was  still  many  years,  however,  before  it  did,  or  could 
resume  a  tone  at  all  resembling  its  former  character ; 
and,  in  fact,  no  personal  explanation  of  that  occurrence, 
nor  allusion  to  it,  ever  passed  between  them  until  one 
or  two  evenings  before  President  Jackson's  departure 
from  this  city  to  the  Hermitage,  last  March.  That  con- 
versation was  of  a  very  solemn  and  affecting  character. 
Long  since,  indeed,  had  every  trace  disappeared  from 
the  bosom  of  each,  of  that  hostile  feeling  which  had  had 
its  origin,  on  Col.  Benton's  part,  only  in  the  exasperated 
affections  of  a  brother,  and  the  pernicious  influence  of 
that  pest  of  society — mischief  makers;  and  which,  on 
the  part  of  General  Jackson,  the  frank,  manly,  warm- 
hearted soldier,  may  be  said  never  to  have  had  an  exist- 
ence ;  and  its  place  had  been  resumed  by  the  memory 
of  early  friendship,  mutual  services,  and  the  equal  con- 
fidence of  each  in  the  honor  and  integrity  of  the  other. 
"  Col.  Benton  continued  a  determined  member  of  the 
opposition  during  the  term  of  Mr.  Adams,  as  he  has 
been  one  of  the  main  pillars  of  support  to  the  democratic 
administration  which  succeeded  it.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  specify  the  particular  occasions  on  which  he  has  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  his  parliamentary  life.  The  events 
are  so  recent,  as  they  were  striking,  that  they  are  doubt- 
less fresh  within  the  memory  of  most  of  our  readers. 
The  panic  session  cannot  be  passed,  however,  without  a 
brief  notice.  In  this  Col.  Benton  sustained,  unaided, 
except  by  the  support  of  two  or  three  gallant  friends, 
(of  whom  the  present  Secretary  of  State  was,  perhaps, 
the  most  effective  in  impromptu  debate,)  the  whole 
brunt  of  the  tremendous  attack  with  which  the  admiu- 


306  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

istration  was  then  assailed,  with  a  fury  and  powerful 
array  of  talent  and  eloquence  never  before  witnessed  in 
any  legislative  body.  His  services  then  rendered  to  the 
democratic  cause  can  never  be  forgotten,  and  never  re- 
paid, except  by  the  proud  consciousness  of  the  eventual 
triumph  by  which  they  have  been  so  signally  crowned. 
His  controversy  with  Mr.  Clay,  in  the  famous  Veto  de- 
bate in  1832,  affords,  perhaps,  as  striking  a  specimen  of 
his  powers  in  this  kind  of  gladiatorial  encounter,  as  any 
that  could  be  selected.  If,  on  that  famous  field,  either 
party  may  be  said  to  have  been  borne  worsted  to  the 
ground,  it  certainly  was  not  the  democratic  orator,  whose 
panache  rode  proudly,  like  that  of  Henri  IV.,  above  the 
tide  of  the  battle,  unbowed  and  unsullied. 

"Col.  Benton  is  by  birth  a  North  Carolinian,  being  a 
native  of  the  county  of  Orange,  and  sprung  emphati- 
cally from  the  people  of  that  sound  republican  State. 
In  fact,  North  Carolina  has  been  singularly  illustrious  in 
the  number  of  great  men  that  she  has  contributed  to 
the  young  States  of  the  South  and  West.  At  various 
periods  within  the  history  of  the  Government,  she  has 
been  able  to  claim  as  her  native  sons  more  than  half  a 
dozen  of  the  Senators  in  Congress ;  and  at  this  time  she 
has  on  the  same  floor  not  less  than  eight  members, 
who  may  be  fairly  estimated  as  among  the  first  men  of 
the  day.  Even  Ohio,  in  the  person  of  the  youngest  Sen- 
ator, has  sent  a  North  Carolinian  ;  and  Alabama,  Mis- 
sissippi and  Tennessee  would  seem  almost  to  believe  that 
none  other  than  a  native  of  that  State  can  do  justice  to 
the  dignified  functions  of  an  American  Senator.  The 
ancestors  of  Col.  Benton  were  among  the  leaders  of  the 


THOMAS    H,    BENTON.  307 

Revolution  of  1775,  and  contributed  in  every  way  to 
the  service  of  their  country.  The  family  of  the  Harts, 
from  which  he  is  descended  on  the  mother's  side,  was 
one  of  the  most  active  in  the  State,  in  furtherance*  of  « 
the  settlement  of  Kentucky,  which  was  originallv  com- 
menced in  North  Carolina,  under  the  name  of  the  Tran- 
sylvania Colony;  and  it  is  sometimes  cited  by  North 
Carolinians,  with  no  little  pride,  that  the  people  of  that 
State  (and  among  them  the  Harts)  were  the  real  back- 
ers of  the  famous  Daniel  Boone.  Col.  Benton  may 
thus  claim  to  be  a  hereditary  defender  of  the  liberties 
and  the  rights  of  the  people;  and  for  this  purpose  a 
reference  back  to  ^  man's  ancestry  may  be  not  only 
proper,  even  for  a  democrat,  but  praiseworthy,  as  an 
honorable  incentive  to  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  same 
good  old  cause.  He  is,  and  has  ever  been,  most  emphati- 
cally a  democrat.  He  has  been  faithful  to  this  princi- 
ple from  the  outset  of  his  public  life,  as  it  will  prove 
faithful  to  him  before  its  close.  He  has  been  a  deep 
student  of  the  history  of  our  government,  as  of  all 
ancient  and  modern  times,  for  the  great  purpose  of  sus- 
taining the  popular  cause  against  all  aristocratic  usur- 
pation, under  whatever  form  disguised.  He  is  no  parlor 
politician.  He  does  not  come  from  the  palaces  of 
cities,  or  the  elegantly  furnished  chambers  of  '  Offices^ 
of  Discount  and  Deposited  His  constituency  is  to  be 
found  among  the  hardy  and  true-hearted  pioneers  of 
civilization,  in  the  farthest  South  and  West. 

"  His  earliest  sympathies  are  with  the  ploughman  and 
planter  of  the  land,  and  his  political  creed  is  embued 
with  the  honesty  and  simplicity  of  their  lives.  His  elo- 


808  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

quence  in  debate  he  caught  from  the  strong  native  feel- 
ing and  sagacity  of  those  who  till  the  soil,  and  substan- 
tially produce  all  the  annual  wealth  of  the  nation, 
and  not  from  the  specious  sophistry  which  so  many 
of  our  American  statesmen  imbibe,  insensibly,  from 
the  legions  of  speculators  of  every  hive,  and  variety 
— subsisting,  in  reality,  on  that  great  producing  mass 
with  which  our  cities  swarm.  We  repeat  that  it 
is  this  arduous  devotion  to  the  service  of  the  democratic 
cause,  in  opposition  to  all  encroachments  on  the  plain 
original  principle  of  equality  of  rights,  which  has  gradu- 
ally raised  the  Missouri  Senator  to  his  present  com- 
manding position,  and  has  given  such  distinguished 
eclat  to  his  name  throughout  the  whole  American 
Union. 

"  Perseverance,  that  attribute  of  all  truly  great  and 
powerful  minds,  has  through  life  been  a  remarkable, 
trait  of  Col.  Benton's  character.  Establishing  his  prin- 
ciples at  the  outset,  basing  them  all  on  an  unwavering 
faith  in  the  intelligence  and  integrity  of  the  people,  and 
guiding  his  course  by  the  single  polar  star  of  the  demo- 
cratic principle,  he  goes  fearlessly  forward  in  his  own 
path,  equally  unmindful  who  may  oppose,  or  who  may 
follow.  He  reaches  his  position,  and  takes  his  stand 
there,  waiting  for  public  opinion  to  come  up  to  him, 
however  far  distant  it  may  seem  to  lag  behind  ;  he  does 
not  go  back  and  linger  and  hesitate  with  it,  but  devotes 
himself,  with  all  his  energies  and  industry,  to  hasten  it 
forward  and  quicken  its  development:  Such  a  man 
must  necessarily  for  a  long  time  stand  alone  ;  and  it 
requires  a  high  degree  of  moral  courage,  firmness  of  pur- 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  309 

pose,  and  conscientious  belief  of  the  truth  of  his  princi- 
ples, to  maintain  such  a  position.  He  is  for  a  long  time 
regarded,  even  by  the  great  body  of  his  own  friends,  as 
a  visionary  ultra — as  a  theorist  whose  views  are  too 
wild  for  practicability  ;  enemies  will  doubtless  christen 
him  and  his  ideas  as  a  stupendous  '  humbug ;'  but  in 
the  end,  the  progress  of  events  and  of  public  opinion 
will  probably  come  up  to  his  position,  and  the  conse- 
quence will  be  that  he  will  then  stand  forward  as  its  most 
prominent  representative. 

"  Such  are  the  men  that  work  great  revolutions  and 
reforms ;  though  whether,  when  they  have  achieved 
that,  their  mission,  they  are  found  to  combine  with  that 
impulsive  energy  which  has  thus  far  been  their  leading 
attribute,  those  other  qualities  suitable  to  the  regulation 
and  conduct  of  affairs  afterwards,  on  which  alone  a  per- 
fect and  safe  public  confidence  can  be  based,  remains  a 
question  to  be  dispassionately  considered,  and  on  which 
we  do  not  pretend  to  pass  an  opinion.  It  is  very  cer- 
tain that  the  authors  of  revolutions  have  not  unfre- 
quently  been  those  on  whom  the  public  confidence 
would  be  the  last  to  fix,  as  the  most  suitable  persons  to 
preside  over  the  action  of  the  new  state  of  things  estab- 
lished by  them ;  and  many  instances  might  be  pointed 
to  in  which,  after  having  been  so  selected  by  the  gene- 
rous impulse  of  popular  gratitude,  they  have  proved  far 
from  competent  to  this  new  and  widely  different  duty. 
Of  this,  however,  the  public  opinion,  the  vox  populi,  is 
the  best  and  the  only  proper  judge,  and  it  would  ill  be- 
come us  to  attempt  to  forestall  it  in  the  slightest  degree. 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  of  popular  misapprehension  of 


310  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Col.  Benfon's  views  of  financial  science,  at  present  the 
principal  question  on  which  the  two  great  parties  of  the 
country  stand  at  issue. 

They  have  been  so  long  and  so  loudly  denounced  as 
violent  and  absurd,  in  the  extremes  to  which  they  go, 
that,  notwithstanding  our  repeated  experience  of  the 
rule,  that  opposition  party  clamor,  against  a  prominent 
man  ought  to  work  by  inverse  proportion,  some  con- 
siderable effect  has  certainly  been  produced  unfavorable 
to  the  distinguished  Senator,  even  upon  his  own  party. 
This  effect  is  somewhat  analogous  to  the  cases  of  Jef- 
ferson, whom  some  good  people  were  honestly  made  to 
imagine  all  that  was  unprincipled,  both  in  his  public  and 
private  capacity — of  General  Jackson,  whom  many  ac- 
tually supposed  an  illiterate  ignorant  dotard,  whose  stub- 
born honesty  was  his  only  good  quality — of  the  present 
incumbent  of  the  same  elevated  office,  whom  not  a  few, 
even  of  his  own  party  and  friends,  have  been  made  by 
dint  of  reiteration  and  positive  assertion,  in  the  very  face 
of  repeated  facts,  to  believe  a  rather  timid  and  time- 
serving politician,  forgetful  that  moral  courage  is  most 
contracted  when  calmest,  deepest  when  most  quiet. 
Col.  Benton's  views,  though  much  misrepresented,  have 
never  pointed  to  a  compulsory  abolition  of  all  paper 
money,  or  the  destruction  of  banks.  The  disconnection 
of  the  Government  from  the  banking  interest — the  restric- 
tive influence  which  would  be  exerted  by  confining  the 
fiscal  action  of  the  Government  to  the  currency  con- 
templated by  the  Constitution,  to  moderate  the  constant 
tendency  of  paper  money  to  excess  and  abuse — and  the 
reform  of  the  anti-republican  monopoly  feature  of  the 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  811 

system,  as  it  has  hitherto  existed — comprise  the  sub- 
stance of  the  views  which  have  often  been  denounced 
as  ultra  and  impracticable,  as  entertained  by  Col.  Ben- 
ton.  The  constitutional  currency  for  the  minor  pur- 
poses of  life — credit  paper  for  the  larger  operations  of 
commerce,  for  those  who  choose  to  use  its  facilities  with 
their  eyes  open,  and  the  privilege  of  choice— is  ac- 
knowledged by  all  the  divisions  of  the  democratic  party 
who  have  followed  united  under  the  flag  of  reform  of 
the  late  administration,  as  the  common  creed;  the  only 
difference  of  opinion  is  as  to  the  mode  of  carrying  it  into 
effect — a  difference  of  opinion  which  need  not,  and  can- 
not, long  remain  a  subject  of  serious  party  divisions." 

From  these  general  remarks  on  Mr,  Benton's  personal 
history  and  political  character,  let  us  pass  to  the  con- 
sideration of  his  published  sentiments,  that  we  may  veri- 
fy their  worth.  The  first  specimen  we  adduce  is  taken 
from  a  speech  made  by  him  in  the  Senate,  Dec.  23, 
1828,  on  the  Public  Debt.  Herein  will  be  seen,  what 
has  ever  been  a  prominent  trait  in  this  patriot,  a  firm  re- 
sistance to  all  great  nominal  monopolies.  Having  urged 
many  considerations  against  the  proposed  measure,  he 
proceeds,  near  the  close  of  his  argument,  to  say  : 

"  I  am  for  the  abolition,  because  the  wielding  of  ten 
millions  of  surplus  revenue  would  dangerously  increase 
the  patronage  of  the  Federal  Government.  It  is  now 
mortgaged  to  the  public  debt,  and  its  application  to  that 
object  being  fixed  and  regular,  involves  the  exercise  of 
but  little  patronage.  Released  from  the  mortgage,  it 
would  be  applicable  to  innumerable  objects,  and  subject 
to  the  annual  appropriation  of  Congress.  Its  distribu- 


512  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

tion  would  attract  all  eyes,  and  excite  universal  cupidi- 
ty. It  would  draw  deputations  from  cities,  towns  and 
villages,  from  companies,  and  corporations,  from  coun- 
ties, states  arid  districts,  to  the  feet  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, all  clamorous  for  their  share  of  the  spoil,  and 
neglecting  their  own  business  to  obtain  it ;  all  becoming 
less  independent  in  proportion  as  they  received  it,  like 
the  degenerate  Romans  who  began  to  lose  the  spirit  of 
independence  from  the  moment  they  began  to  look  to 
the  public  granaries,  instead  of  their  own  cribs,  for  a 
supply  of  corn.  .  ",*r 

"  I  am  for  the  abolition,  because  an  annual  scramble 
on  the  floors  of  Congress  for  ten  millions  of  dollars  would 
fill  our  halls  with  bargains,  combinations,  intrigues  and 
corruption.  The  effect  would  be  inevitable.  Help  my 
State  to  half  a  million,  and  I  will  help  yours  to  another 
half.  Such  would  soon  be  the  secret,  and  before  long, 
the  open  and  unblushing  language.  A  majority  might 
even  meet  beforehand,  and  divide  the  whole  among  their 
own  States.  They  might  even  do  worse,  they  might  in- 
sert appropriations  for  roads  and  canals  in  States  whose 
representatives  denied  the  constitutionality  of  such  ap- 
propriations, and  thus  subject  them  to  the  censure  of  all 
their  constituents  who  admitted  the  power,  or  denying 
it,  still  thought  they  ought  to  have  their  share  while  it 
was  going.  In  this  way  the  delegation  of  a  State  might 
be  rendered  obnoxious  to  their  constituents,  and  broken 
down  at  home  by  a  manoeuvre  here.  Is  this  fancy,  or 
is  it  fact  ?  exclaimed  Mr.  B.  It  is  fact,  and  the  history 
of  our  legislation  proves  it.  Within  the  last  three  years, 
the  manoeuvre  was  tried.  A  bill  came  up  from  the  H. 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  313 

R.  with  appropriations  lor  internal  improvement  for  a 
majority  of  the  States,  including  some  whose  delegations 
could  not  vote  for  such  objects.  The  bill  passed  through 
this  chamber,  and  became  a  law ;  but  the  design  against 
the  members  failed.  A  kindly  feeling  prevailed.  The 
yeas  and  nays  were  not  called.  The  bill  went  through 
without  noise,  and  the  obnoxious  voters  were  not  point- 
ed out  to  their  constituents.  This  thing  may  be  at- 
tempted again  upon  a  greater  scale,  and  with  a  more 
determined  intent,  if  ten  millions  are  to  be  annually 
divided  out. 

"I  am  for  the  abolition,  because  the  annual  division  of 

ten  millions  of  dollars  would  fill  this  Union  with  discord 
and  violence.  The  division  of  money  and  property  is 
the  fruitful  source  of  dissension  all  over  the  world,  and 
throughout  all  ranks  and  classes  of  people.  It  is  the 
bane  of  partnerships,  the  rock  on  which  the  peace  of 
families  is  split,  and  the  signal  for  strife  and  contention 
amongst  confederates  and  conquerors.  So  sung  the 

Poet  of  nature — 

41 

« Friends  now  fast  sworn, 

Whose  double  bosoms  seem  but  one  heart  to  bear, 
Who  'twine  as  't'were  in  love  inseparable, 
Shall,  within  this  hour,  upon  dissension  of  a  doit, 
Break  out  to  bitterest  enmity.' 

"  Yes,  upon  dissension  of  a  farthing !  With  how  mucn 
greater  bitterness  then  must  this  enmity  break  out  when 
the  dissension  is  for  millions,  when  the  parties  are 
sovereign  communities,  their  passions  inflamed  by  asso- 
ciation, no  common  superior  to  decide  between  them, 
14 


314  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

and  all  sense  of  shame  lost  in  the  mass  of  undistinguish- 
able  multitudes?  The  last  thing  that  any  friend  to  the 
peace,  the  harmony,  the  stability  of  this  Union  would 
wish  to  see,  would  be  an  annual  scramble  on  the  floor 
of  Congress  for  ten  millions  of  dollars.  We  shall  have 
heart  burnings  enough  in  distributing  the  two  or  three 
millions  of  surplus  which  will  remain  without  these  ten 
millions,  and  in  contending  for  the  countless  millions  of 
the  public  lands. 

"I  am  for  the  abolition,  because  it  will  be  the  means 
of  restoring  the  harmony  of  this  Union,  now  greatly 
impaired  by  a  tariff  which  sits  hard  upon  the  navigating 
and  planting  interests  of  the  country.  An  abolition  of 
ten  millions  of  duties  upon  the  principles  stated  in  this 
resolution,  will  relieve  these  interests,  without  injuring 
any  other  interests,  and  thus  an  angry  question  will 
drop  from  our  discussions,  and  a  heavy  cloud  of  discon- 
tent will  vanish  from  our  political  horizon." 
,  '•  An  English  barrister  once  undertook  to  speak  while 
an  express  went  twenty  miles  to  bring  back  a  witness 
whom  it  was  necessary  to  produce  upon  the  trial.  Be- 
yond the  sea  that  was  deemed  quite  an  exploit,  but  it 
was  nothing  to  what  we  often  see  in  this  land  of  wordy 
wars.  For  instance,  take  the  great  debate  on  Foot's 
resolution  in  1829-30.  Mr.  Benton  had  at  least  his 
fourth  day  in  that  memorable  contest,  and  mightily  did 
he  annoy  the  bravest  champions  he  was  called  to  face. 

On  the  second  day,  Jan.  29,  "The  Senator  from  Mis 
souri,"  submitted  the  following  remarks  which  occa- 
sioned a  well-known  reply. 

"The  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  (Mr.  Webster,) 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  315 

has  since  occupied  the  floor  two  days,  ana  has  taken  no 
notice  of  facts  so  highly  authenticated,  drawn  from 
sources  so  wholly  unimpeachable,  and  so  pointedly  con- 
flicting with  the  denials  and  assertions  which  he  'has 
made  on  this  floor.  It  is  not  for  me  to^ccount  for  this 
neglect,  or  forbearance.  Rhetoricians  lay  down  two 
cases  in  which  silence  upon  the  adversaries'  arguments 
is  the  better  part  of  eloquence ;  first,  where  they  are  too 
insignificant  to  merit  any  notice ;  secondly,  where  they 
are  too  well  fortified  to  be  overthrown.  In  such  cases 
it  is  recommended  as  the  safest  course,  to  pass  them  by 
without  notice,  and,  as  if  they  had  not  been  heard.  I 
do  not  intimate  which,  or  if  either  of  these  rules 
governed  the  conduct  of  the  Senator  from  Massachu- 
setts. I  can  very  well  conceive  of  a  third,  and  very  dif- 
ferent reason  for  this  inattention — a  reason  which  was 
seen  in  the  fullness  of  the  occupation  which  the  Senator 
from  South  Carolina  (GEN.  HAYNE)  had  given  him. 
True,  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  tells  us  that  he 
felt  nothing  of  all  that — that  the  arrows  did  not  pierce — • 
and  makes  a  question  whether  the  arm  of  the.  Senator 
from  South  Carolina  was  strong  enough  to  spring  the 
bow  ?  This  he  repeated  so  many  times,  and  with  looks 
so  well  adjusted  to  the  declaration,  that  we  all  must  have 
been  reminded  of  what  we  have  read  in  ancient  books, 
of  the  brave  gladiator  who,  receiving  the  fatal  thrust 
which  starts  the  cry  of  "hoc  habet"  from  the  whole  am- 
phitheatre, instead  of  displaying  his  \vound,  and  beseech- 
ing pity,  collects  himself  over  his  centre  of  gravity,  as- 
sumes a  graceful  attitude,  dresses  his  face  in  smiles,  bows 


316  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

to  the  ladies,  and  acts  the  unhurt  hero  in  the  agonies  of 
death. 

"  But  admitting  that  the  arrows  did  not  pierce  :  What 
then  ?  Is  it  proof  of  the  weakness  of  the  arm  that  sprung 
the  bow,  or  of  the  impenetrability  of  the  substance  that 
resisted  the  shaft  ?  We  read  in  many  books  of  the 
polished  brass  that  resists,  not  only  arrows,  but  the  iron- 
headed  javelins,  thrown  by  gigantic  heroes.  But, 
pierced  or  not  pierced,  we  have  all  witnessed  one  thing  ; 
we  have  seen  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  occupy 
one  whole  day  in  picking  these  arrows  out  of  his  body ; 
and  to  judge  from  the  length  and  seriousness  of  this  occu- 
pation, he  might  be  supposed  to  have  been  stuck  as 
full  of  them  as  the  poor  fellow  whose  transfixed  effigy 
on  the  first  leaf  of  our  annual  almanacs  attracts  the 
commiseration  of  so  many  children." 

At  a  subsequent  stage  of  the  same  speech,  Mr.  Ben- 
ton  referred  to  most  interesting  facts,  as  follows  : 

"  Let  us  pause,  Mr.  President,  and  reflect  for  a  mo- 
ment, upon  the  consequences  to  the  West,  and  to  the 
Union;  if  President  Jefferson  had  not  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity of  purchasing  Louisiana ;  or,  having  purchased 
it,  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives  should  have 
rejected  the  acquisition.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  France,  emerging  from  the  vortex  of 
her  re\^>lution,  overflowing  with  warriors  and  governed 
by  the  conqueror,  who  was  catching  at  the  sceptre  of 
the  world,  was  then  the  owner  of  Louisiana.  The  First 
Consul  had  extorted  it  from  the  King  of  Spain  in  the 
year  1800  ;  and  the  violation  of  the  right  of  deposite  at 
New  Orleans,  was  the  first  act  of  ownership  over  the 


THOMAS    K      BENTON  317 

new  possession,  and  the  first  significant  intimations  to  us 
of  the  new  kind  of  neighbor  that  we  had  acquired.  Con- 
temporaneously with  this  act  of  outrage  upon  us,  was 
the  concentration  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  under 
the  general  of  division,  afterwards  Marshal  Victor,  in 
the  ports  of  Holland,  for  the  military  occupation  of  Louis- 
iana. So  far  advanced  were  the  preparations  for  this 
expedition,  that  the  troops  were  ready  to  sail ;  and  com- 
missaries to  provide  for  their  reception,  were  engaged  in 
New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis,  when  the  transfer  of  the 
province  was  announced.  Now,  sir,  put  it  on  either 
foot :  Louisiana  remains  a  French,  or  becomes  a  British 
possession.  In  the  first  contingency,  we  must  have  be- 
come the  ally  or  the  enemy  of  France.  The  system  of 
Bonaparte  admitted  of  no  neutrals  ;  and  our  alternatives 
would  have  been,  between  falling  into  the  train  of  his 
continental  system,  or  maintaining  a  war  against  him 
upon  our  own  soil.  We  can  readily  decide,  that  the 
latter  would  have  been  most  honorable ;  but  it  is  hard 
to  say,  which  would  have  been  most  fatal  to  our  pros- 
perity, and  most  disastrous  to  our  republican  institu- 
tions. In  the  second  contingency,  and  the  almost 
certain  one,  we  should  have  had  England  established  on 
our  western,  as  well  as  on  our  northern  frontier ;  and  I 
may. add,  our  southern  frontier  also  ;  for  Florida,  as  the 
property  of  the  ally  of  France,  would  have  been  a  fair 
subject  of  British  conquest  in  the  war  with  France  and 
Spain,  and  a  desirable  one,  after  the  acquisition  of 
Louisiana,  and  as  easily  taken  as  wished  for ;  the  vessel 
that  brought  home  the  news  of  the  victory  at  Trafalgar, 
being  sufficient  to  summon  and  reduce  the  places  of 


318  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AFRICA. 

Mobile,  Pensacola,  St.  Marks,  and  St.  Augustine.  This 
nation,  thus  established  upon  three  sides  of  our  territory, 
the  most  powerful  of  maritime  powers,  jealous  of  our 
commerce,  panting  for  the  dominion  of  the  seas,  unscru- 
pulous in  the  use  of  savage  allies,  and  nine  years  after- 
wards to  be  engaged  in  a  war  with  us !  The  results  of 
such  a  position  would  have  been,  the  loss,  for  ages  and 
centuries,  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi ;  the  per- 
manent occupation  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  the  British 
fleet;  the  consequent  control  of  the  West  Indies;  and 
the  ravage  of  our  frontiers  by  savages  in  British  pay. 
These  would  have  been  the  permanent  consequences,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  fate  of  the  late  war,  commenced  with 
our  enemy  encompassing  us  on  three  sides  with  her 
land  forces,  and  covering  the  ocean  in  front  with  her 
proud  navy,  victorious  over  the  combined  fleets  of 
France  and  Spain,  and  swelled  with  the  ships  of  all  na- 
tions. From  these  calamitous  results,  the  acquisition  of 
Louisiana  delivered  us  ;  and  the  heart  must  be  little 
turned  to  gratitude  and  devotion,  which  does  not  adore 
the  Providence  that  made  the  great  man  President,  who 
seized  this  gift  of  fortune,  and  overthrew  the  political 
party  that  would  have  rejected  it." 

On  the  third  day  of  this  famous  gladiatorial  contest,  Mr. 
Benton  showed  that  "  there  were  blows  to  give  as  well  as 
blows  to  take."  Referring  to  the  sacred  and  secular 
patriots  of  the  South  in  colonial  and  revolutionary  times, 
he  proceeded  to  say  : 

"  Time  and  my  ability  would  fail  in  any  attempt  to 
perform  this  task ;  to  enumerate  the  names  and  acts  ot 
those  generous  friends  in  the  South,  who  then  stood  forth 


THOMAS    H.    BENTOV.  319 

our  defenders  and  protectors,  and  gave  Us  men  ancTmo- 
ney,  and  beat  the  domestic  foe  in  the  capitol,  while  we 
beat  the  foreign  foe  in  the  field.  Time  and  my  ability 
would  fail  to  do  them  justice ;  but  there  is  one  State  in 
the  South,  the  name  and  praise  of  which,  the  events  of 
this  debate  would  drag  from  the  stones  of  the  West,  if 
they  could  rise  up  in  this  place  and  speak  !  It  is  the 
name  of  that  State  upon  which  the  vials,  filled  with  the 
accumulated  wrath  of  years,  have  been  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  emptied  before  us,  on  a  motion  to  postpone 
a  land  debate.  That  State,  whose  microscopic  offence 
in  the  obscure  parish  of  Colleton,  is  to  be  hung  in  equi- 
poise with  the  organized  treason  and  deep  damnation  of 
the  Hartford  Convention ;  that  State,  whose  present 
dislike  to  a  tariff  which  is  tearing  out  her  vitals,  is  to  be 
made  the  means  of  exciting  the  West  against  the -whole 
South  ;  that  State,  whose  dislike  to  the  tariff  laws  is  to 
be  made  the  pretext  for  setting  up  a  despotic  authority 
in  the  Supreme  Court ;  that  Stale,  which,  in  the  old 
Congress  in  1785,  voted  for  the  reduction  of  the  price  of 
public  lands  to  about  one- half  the  present  minimum  ; 
which,  in  1786,  redeemed  after  it  was  lost,  and  carried 
by  its  single  vote,  the  first  measure  that  ever  was 
adopted  for  the  protection  of  Kentucky — that  of  the  two 
companies  sent  to  the  Falls  of  Ohio ;  that  State,  which, 
in  the  period  of  the  late  war,  sent  us  a  LOWNDES,  a 
CHEVES,  and  a  CALHOUN,  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  West 
in  the  Capitol,  and  to  slay  the  Goliahs  in  the  North  ; 
that  State  which  at  this  day  has  sent  to  this  chamber, 
the  Senator  (GEN.  HAYNE)  whose  liberal  and  enlight- 
ened speech  on  the  subject  of  the  puiSlic  lands,  has  been 


320  LIVIVG     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

seized  upon  and  made  the  pretext  for  that  premeditated 
aggression  upon  South  Carolina,  and  the  whole  South 
which  we  have  seen  met  with  a  promptitude,  energy, 
gallantry,  and  effect,  that  has  forced  the  assailant  to  cry 
out  an  hundred  times,  that  he  was  still  alive,  though  we 
all  could  see  that  he  was  most  cruelly  pounded. 

"  Memory,  Mr.  President,  is  the  lowest  faculty  of  the 
human  mind — the  irrational  animals  possess  it  in  com- 
mon with  man— the  poor  beasts  of  the  field  have  mem- 
ory. They  can  recollect  the  hand  that  feeds,  and  the 
foot  that  kicks  them ;  and  the  instinct  of  self-preserva- 
tion tells  them  to  follow  one  and  to  avoid  the  other. 
Without  any  knowledge  of  Greek  or  Latin,  these  mute, 
irrational  creatures  "  fear  the  Greek  offering  presents  ;" 
they  shun  the  food  offered  by  the  hand  that  has  been 
lifted  to  take  their  life.  This  is  their  instinct ;  and  shall 
man,  the  possessor  of  so  many  noble  faculties,  with  all 
the  benefits  of  learning  and  experience,  have  less  mem- 
ory, less  gratitude,  less  sensibility  to  danger,  than  these 
poor  beasts  ?  And  shall  he  stand  less  upon  his  guard, 
when  the  hand  that  smote  is  stretched  out  to  entice  ? 
Shall  man,  bearing  the  image  of  his  Creator,  sink  thus 
low?  Shall  the  generous  son  of  the  West  fall  below  his 
own  dumb  and  reasonless  cattle,  in  all  the  attributes  of 
memory,  gratitude,  and  sense  of  danger  ?  Shall  his 
"  Timeo  Danaos  "  have  been  taught  him  in  vain.  Shall 
he  forget  the  things  which  he  saw,  and  part  of  which  he 
was — the  events  of  the  late  war — the  memorable  scenes 
of  fifteen  years  ago  ?  The  events  of  former  times,  of 
forty  years  ago,  may  be  unknown  to  those  who  are  born 
since.  The  attempt  to  surrender  the  navigation  of  Ine 


THOMAS    If.    BENTON.  321 

Mississippi ;  to  prevent  the  settlement  of  the  West ;  the 
refusal  to  protect  the  early  settlers  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  or  to  procure  for  them  a  cession  of  Indian 
lands  ;  all  these  trials,  in  which  the  South  was  the  savior 
of  the  West,  may  be  unknown  to  the  young  generation 
that  has  come  forward  since ;  and  with  respect  to  these 
events,  being  uninformed,  they  may  be  unmindful  and 
ungrateful.  They  did  not  see  them  ;  and,  like  the  second 
generation  of  the  Israelites,  in  the  land  of  promise,  who 
knew  not  the  wonders  which  God  had  done  for  their 
forefathers  in  Egypt,  they  may  plead  ignorance  and  go 
astray  after  strange  gods — after  the  Baals  and  the  Asta- 
roths  of  the  heathen  ;  but  not  so  of  the  events  of  the 
last  war.  These  they  saw !  The  aid  of  the  South  they 
felt !  The  deeds  of  a  party  in  the  north-east  they  felt 
also.  Memory  will  do  its  office  for  both  ;  and  base  and 
recreant  is  the  son  of  the  West,  that  can  ever  turn  his 
back  upon  the  friends  that  saved,  to  go  into  the  arms  of 
the  enemy  that  mocked  and  scorned  him,  in  the  season 
of  dire  calamity. 

"  I  proceed  to  a  different  theme.  Among  the  novel- 
ties of  this  debate,  Mr.  President,  is  that  part  of  the 
speech  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  which  dwells, 
with  such  elaboration  of  argument  and  ornament,  upon 
the  love  and  blessings  of  union,  the  hatred  and  horror  of 
disunion.  It  was  a  part  of  the  Senator's  speech  which 
brought  into  full  play  the  favorite  Ciceronian  figure  of 
amplification.  It  was  up  to  the  rule  in  that  particular. 
But  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  another  rule,  and  a 
higher  and  a  precedent  one,  which  it  violated.  It  was  the 
rule  of  Propriety  ;  that  rule  which  requires  the  fitness  of 
14* 


322  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

things  to  be  considered  ;  which  requires  the  time,  the 
place,  the  subject,  and  the  audience  to  be  considered  ; 
and  condemns  the  delivery  of  the  argument,  and  all  its 
flowers,  if  it  fails  in  congrument  to  these  particulars.  I 
thought  the  essay  upon  union  and  disunion  had  so  failed. 
It  came  to  us  when  we  were  not  prepared  for  it,  when 
there  was  nothing  in  the  Senate,  nor  in  the  country,  to 
grace  its  introduction ;  nothing  to  give,  or  to  receive, 
effect  to  or  from  the  impassioned  scene  that  we  wit- 
nessed. It  may  be,  it  was  the  prophetic  cry  of  the  dis- 
tracted daughter  of  Priam,  breaking  into  the  council, 
and  alarming  its  tranquil  members  with  vaticinations  of 
the  fall  of  Troy ;  but  to  me,  it  all  sounded  like  the  sud- 
den proclamation  for  an  earthquake,  when  the  sun,  the 
earth,  the  air,  announced  no  such  prodigy  ;  when  all 
the  elements  of  nature  were  at  rest,  and  sweet  repose 
pervading  the  world.  There  was  a  time,  Mr.  President, 
and  you,  and  I,  and  all  of  us,  did  see  it,  when  such  a 
speech  would  have  found,  in  its  delivery,  every  attri- 
bute of  a  just  and  rigorous  Propriety  !  It  was  at  the 
time  when  the  five-striped  banner  was  waving  over  the 
land  of  the  North !  when  the  Hartford  Convention  was 
in  session !  when  the  language  in  the  Capitol  ^was, 
"Peaceably,  if  we  can  ;  forcibly,  if  we  must !"  when  the 
cry,  out  of  doors,  was,  "  the  Potomac  the  boundary  ; 
the  Negro  States  by  themselves!  The  Alleghanies 
the  boundary,  the  western  savages  by  themselves  ! 
The  Mississippi  the  boundary,  let  Missouri  be  gov- 
erned by  ?  Prefect,  or  given  up  as  a  haunt  for  wild 
beasts!"  That  time  was  the  fit  occasion  for  this 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  323 

speech  ;  and  if  it  had  been  delivered  then,  either  in 
the  Hall  of  Representatives,  or  in  the  Den  of  the  Con- 
vention, or  in  the  highway,  among  the  bearers  and  fol- 
lowers of  the  five-striped  banner,  what  effect  must  it  not 
have  produced  ?  What  terror  and  consternation  among 
the  plotters  of  disunion!  But,  here,  in  this  loyal  and 
quiet  assemblage,  in  this  season  of  general  tranquillity 
and  universal  allegiance,  the  whole  performance  has  lost 
its  effect  for  want  of  affinity,  connection,  or  relation,  to 
any  subject  depending,  or  sentiment  expressed  in  the 
Senate  ;  for  want  of  any  application,  or  reference,  to 
any  event  impending  in  the  country." 

On  the  2d  of  Feburary,  1831,  Mr.  Benton  delivered 
his  most  celebrated  speech  against  the  renewal  of  the 
charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  It  is  char- 
acterized throughout  by  severe  argument  and  that  copi- 
ousness of  statistical  information  for  which  this  speaker 
is  distinguished.  The  following  is  the  closing  portion  : 

"  I  have  said  that  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  cannot  be  renewed.  And  in  saying  this, 
f  wish  to  be  considered,  not  as  a  needless  denunciator, 
supplying  the  place  of  argument  by  empty  menace,  but 
as  a  Senator,  considering  well  what  he  says,  after  hav- 
ing attentively  surveyed  his  subject.  I  repeat,  then, 
that  the  charter  cannot  be  renewed  !'  And,  in  coming 
to  the  conclusion  of  this  peremptory  opinion,  I  acknow- 
ledge no  necessity  to  look  beyond  the  walls  of  this  Capi- 
tol,— bright  as  may  be  the  consolation  which  rises  on 
the  vision  from  the  other  end  of  the  avenue  ! — I  confine 
my  view  to  the  halls  of  Congress,  and  joyfully  exclaim, 
k  is  no  longer  the  year  1816  !  Fifteen  years  have  gone . 


.,24 


LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 


by ;  times  have  changed,  and  former  arguments  havo 
lost  their  application.  We  were  then  fresh  from  war, 
loaded  with  debt,  and  with  all  the  embarrassments 
which  follow  in  the  train  of  war.  We  are  now  settled 
down  in  peace  and  tranquillity,  with  all  the  blessings 
attendant  upon  quiet  and  repose.  There  is  no  longer  a 
single  consideration  urged  in  favor  of  chartering  the 
Bank  in  1816,  which  can  have  the  least  weight  or  ap- 
plication, in  favor  of  re-chartering  it  now.  This  is  my 
assertion  !  a  broad  one  it  may  be  ;  but  no  less  true  than 
broad.  Let  us  see!  What  were  the  arguments  in 
1816  ?  Why,  first,  'to  pay  the  public  creditors'  I  an- 
swer this  is  no  longer  anything,  for  before  1836  that 
function  will  cease;  there  will  be  no  more  creditors  to 
pay.  2.  '  To  transfer  the  public  moneys.'  That  will 
be  nothing  ;  for,  after  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  we 
shall  have  no  moneys  to  transfer.  The  twelve  millions 
of  dollars  which  are  now  transferred  annually  to  the 
North-East,  to  pay  the  public  creditors,  will  then  remain 
in  the  pockets  of  the  people,  and  the  reduced  expendi- 
tures of  the  government  will  be  made  where  the  money 
is  collected.  The  army  and  the  navy,  after  the  ex- 
tinction of  the  debt,  will  be  the  chief  objects  of  expendi- 
ture ;  and  they  will  require  the  money,  nearer  on  the 
frontiers,  convenient  to  the  land  forces,  or  on  the  sea- 
board, convenient  to  the  custom-houses.  Thus  will 
transfers  of  revenue  become  unnecessary.  3.  '  To 
make  loans  to  the  General  Government'  That  is  noth« 
ing ;  for  the  General  Government  will  want  no  loans  in 
time  of  peace,  not  even  out  of  its  own  deposites ;  for 
the  prospect  of  war  is  rather  too  distant  at  present  to 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  325 

make  new  loans-on  that  account.  4.  '  To  pay  the  Pen- 
sioners.' That  is  something,  I  admit,  when  the  pay- 
ments exceed  a  million  per  annum.  But  what  will  it 
be  after  1836?  When  the  hand  of  death,  and  the 
scythe  of  time,  shall  have  committed  five  years  more 
of  ravages  in  their  senile  ranks.  The  mass  of  these 
heroical  monuments  are  the  men  of  the  Revolution. 
They  are  far  advanced  upon  that  allegorical  bridge  so 
beautifully  described  in  the  vision  of  Mirza.  They 
have  passed  the  seventy  arches  which  are  sound  and 
entire,  and  are  now  treading  upon  the  broken  ones, 
where  the  bridge  is  full  of  holes,  and  the  clouds  and 
darkness  setting  in.  At  every  step  some  one  stumbles 
and  falls  through,  and  is  lost  in  the  ocean  beneath.  In 
a  few  steps  more  the  last  will  be  gone.  Surely  it  can- 
not be  necessary  to  keep  up  for  twenty  years,  the  vast 
establishment  of  the  Federal  Bank  to  pay  the  brief  sti- 
pends of  these  fleeting  shadows.  Their  country  can 
do  it, — can  pay  the  pensions  as  well  as  give  them — and 
do  it  for  the  little  time  that  remains  with  no  other 
regret  than  that  the  grateful  task  is  to  cease  so  soon. 
5.  '  To  regulate  the  currency.'  I  answer ;  the  joint 
resolution  of  1816  will  do  that,  and  will  effect  the  regu- 
lation without  destroying  on  the  one  hand,  and  without 
raising  up  a  new  power,  above  regulation,  on  the  other. 
Besides,  there  is  some  mistake  in  this,  phrase,  currency. 
The  word  in  the  Constitution  is  coin.  It  is  the  value 
of  coin  which  Congress  is  to  regulate;  and  to  include 
bank  notes  under  that  term  is  to  assume  a  power,  not 
of  construction — for  no  construction  can  be  wild  and 
boundless  enough  to  construe  coin,  that  is  to  say,  me- 


826  LIV  NO    ORATORS    IV    AMERICA. 

tallic  money  melted,  cast  and  stamped — into  paper 
notes  printed  and  written — but  it  is  to  assume  a  power 
of  life  and  death  over  the  Constitution  ;  a  power  to  de- 
throne and  murder  one  of  its  true  and  lawful  words, 
and  to  set  up  a  bastard  pretender  in  its  place.  I  invoke 
the  spirit  of  America  upon  the  daring  attempt !  6.  '  To 
equalize  exchanges,  and  sett  bills  of  exchange  for  the 
half  of  one  per  cent!  This  is  the  broker's  argument ; 
very  fit  and  proper  to  determine  a  question  of  broker- 
age; but  very  insufficient  to  determine  a  question  of 
great  national  policy,  of  State  rights,  of  constitutional 
difficulty,  of  grievous  taxation,  and  of  public  and  pri- 
vate subjugation  to  the  beck  and  nod  of  a  great  money- 
ed oligarchy.  7.  '  A  bonus  of  a  million  and  a  half  of 
dollars.'  This,  Mr.  President  is  Esau's  view  of  the 
subject ;  a  very  seductive  view  to  an  improvident 
young  man,  who  is  willing  to  give  up  the  remainder  of 
his  life  to  chains  and  poverty,  provided  he  can  be  so- 
laced for  the  present  with  a  momentary  and  insignifi- 
cant gratification.  But  what  is  it  to  the  United 
States  ?— to  the  United  States  of  1836!  without  a  shil- 
ling of  debt,  and  mainly  occupied  with  the  reduction  of 
taxes !  Still  this  bonus  is  the  only  consideration  that 
can  now  be  offered,  and  surely  it  is  the  last  one  that 
ought  to  be  accepted.  We  do  not  want  the  money ; 
and,  if  we  did,  the  recourse  to  a  bonus  would  be  the 
most  execrable  form  in  which  we  could  raise  it.  What 
is  a  bonus  ?  Why,  in  monarchies,  it  is  a  price  paid  to 
the  king  for  the  privilege  of  extorting  money  out  of  his 
subjects  ;  with  us,  it  is  a  price  paid  to  ourselves  for  the 
privilege  of  extorting  money  out  of  ourselves.  The 

»*•*     ^  -  jfc*  *  ^.  r*Tlr  *tf«  < 


THOiMAS    H.    BENTON.  327 

more  of  it  the  worse  ;  for  it  has  to  be  paid  back  to  the 
extortioners,  with  a  great  interest  upon  it.  It  is  related 
by  the  English  historian  Clarendon,  who  cannot  be  sus- 
pected of  overstating  any  fact,  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
Stuart  kings,  that  for  £  1,500  advanced  to  Charles  the 
First  in  bonuses,  no  less  than  £200,000  were  extorted 
from  his  subjects  :  being  at  the  rate  of  £133  taken  from 
the  subject  for  £l  advanced  to  the  king.  What  the 
Bank  of  the" United  States  will  have  made  out  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States,  in  twenty  years,  in  return  for 
its  bonus  of  $1,500,000,  (which,  I  must  repeat,  has  been 
advanced  to  us  out  of  our  own  money,)  has  been  shown 
to  be  about  sixty-six  millions  of  dollars.  What,  it 
would  make  in  the  next  twenty  years,  when  secure 
possession  of  the  renewed  charter  should  free  the  insti- 
tution from  every  restraint,  and  leave  it  at  full  liberty 
to  pursue  the  money,  goods  and  lands  of  the  people  in 
every  direction,  cannot  be  ascertained.  Enough  can 
be  ascertained,  however,  to  show  that  it  must  be  infi- 
nitely beyond  what  it  has  been.  There  are  some. data 
upon  which  some  partial  and  imperfect  calculations  can 
be  made,  and  let  us  essay  them.  In  the  first  place,  the 
rise  of  the  stock,  which  cannot  be  less  than  that  of  the 
Bank  of  England,  in  its  flourishing  days,  (probably 
more,  as  all  Europe  is  now  seeking  investments  here,) 
may  reach  250  per  cent.,  or  150  above  par.  This,  upon 
a  capital  of  thirty-five  millions,  would  give  a  profit  of 
$42,500,000  :  a  very  pretty  sum  to  be  cleared  by  opera- 
tion of  law  ! — to  be  added  to  the  fortunes  of  some  indi- 
viduals, aliens  as  well  as  citizens,  by  the  mere  passage 
of  an  act  of  Congress  ! 


328  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

In  the  next  place,  the  regular  dividends,  assiimihg 
them  to  equal  those  of  the  Bank  of  England  in  its  meri- 
dian, would  be  ten  per  cent,  per  annum.  This  would  give 
$3,500,000  for  the  annual  dividend ;  and  $70,000,000 
for  the  aggregate  of  twenty  years.  In  the  third  place, 
the  direct  expenses  of  the  Institution,  now  less  than 
$400,000  per  annum,  would,  under  the  new  and  mag- 
nificent expansion  which  the  operations  of  the  Bank 
would  take,  probably  exceed  half  a  million  per  annum  ; 
say  $10,000,000  for  the  whole  term.  Putting  these 
three  items  together,  which  is  as  far  as  data  in  hand  will 
enable  us  to  calculate,  and  we  have  $122,500,000  of 
profits  made  out  of  the  people,  equal  to  a  tax  of  $6,000,- 
000  per  annum.  How  much  more  may  follow,  is 
wholly  unascertainable,  and  would  depend  upon  the 
moderation,  the  justice,  the  clemency,  the  mercy  and 
forbearance,  of  the  Supreme  Central  Directory,  who, 
sitting  on  their  tripods,  and  shaking  their  tridents  over 
the  moneyed  ocean,  are  able  to  raise,  and  repress,  the 
golden  waves  at  pleasure  : — who  being  chief  purchasers 
of  real  estate,  may  take  in  towns  and  cities,  and  the 
whole  country  round,  at  one  fell  swoop ; — who,  being 
sole  lenders  of  money,  may  take  usury,  not  only  at  46, 
but  at  460  per  cent. : — who  being  masters  of  all  other 
banks,  and  of  the  Federal  Government  itself,  may  compel 
these  tributary  establishments  to  ransom  their  servile 
existences  with  the  heavy,  and  repeated  exactions  of 
Algerine  cupidity.  The  gains  of  such  an  institution 
defy  calculation.  There  is  no  example  on  earth  with 
which  to  compare  it.  The  Bank  of  England,  in  its 
proudest  days,  would  afford  but  an  inadequate  and  imper- 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  329 

feet  exemplar;  for  the  power  of  that  Bank  was  counter 
poised,  and  its  exactions  limited,  by  the  wealth  of  the 
landed  aristocracy,  and  the  princely  revenues  of  great 
merchants  and  private  bankers.  But  with  us,  there 
would  be  no  counterpoise,  no  limit,  no  boundary,  to  the 
extent  of  exactions.  All  would  depend  upon  the  will  ot 
the  Supreme  Central  Directory.  The  nearest  approach 
to  the  value  of  this  terrific  stock,  which  my  reading  has 
suggested,  would  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  famous 
South  Sea  Company  of  the  last  century  ;  whose  shares 
rose  in  leaps  from  100  to  500,  and  from  500  to  1000  per 
cent.;  but,  with  this  immeasurable  and  lamentable  differ- 
ence, that  that  was  a  BUBBLE!  this,  a  REALITY!  And 
who  would  be  the  owners  of  this  imperial  stock? 
Widows  and  orphans,  think  you  ?  as  ostentatiously  set 
forth  in  the  report  of  last  session  ?  No,  sir  !  a  few  great 
capitalists;  aliens,  denizens,  naturalized  subjects;  and 
some  native  citizens  ;  already  the  richest  of  the  land  ; 
and,  who  would  avail  themselves  of  their  intelligences, 
and  their  means,  to  buy  out  the  small  stockholders  on  the 
eve  of  the  renewal.  These  would  be  the  owners.  And 
where  would  all  this  power  and  money  centre  ?  In  the 
great  cities  to  the  north-east,  which  have  been  for  forty 
years,  and  that  by  force  of  federal  legislation,  the  Lion's 
den  of  southern  and  western  money;  that  den  into 
which  all  the  tracks  point  inwards ;  from  which  the 
returning  track  of  a  solitary  dollar  has  never  yet  been 
seen!  And,  this  is  the  institution  for  which  a  renewed 
existence  is  sought — for  which,  the  votes  of  the  people's 
representatives  are  claimed!  But,  no!  Impossible  !  It 
cannot  be !  The  Bank  is  done.  The  arguments  of 


330  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 


will  no  longer  apply.  Times  have  changed  ;  and 
the  policy  of  the  Republic  changes  with  the  times.  The 
war  made  thj^Blluk  ;  peace  wi)I  unmake  it.  The  bale- 
ful planet  (JFfir«vand  blood,.and  every  human  woe  did 
bring  tha^  pestilence  upon  us;  the  benignant  star  of 
peace  shall  chase  it  away." 

One  of  the  most  instructive  of  Mr.  Benton's  speeches 
was  that  on  the  Oregon  question,  delivered  in  the  Senate 
in  May,  1846.  The  following  is  a  fair  sample  : 

"  The  value  of  the  country,  I  mean  the  Columbian 
River  and  its  valley,  (I  must  repeat  the  limitation  every 
time,  lest  I  be  carried  up  to  54°  40)  has  been  questioned 
on  this  floor  and  elsewjiere.  It  has  been  supposed  to  be 
of  little  value,  hardly  worth  the  possession,  much  less 
the  acquisition,  and  treated  rather  as  a  burden  to  be  got 
rid  of,  than  as  a  benefit  to  be  preserved.  This  is  a  great 
error,  afid  one  that  only  prevails  on  this  side  of  the 
water  ;'  the  British  know  better,  afcd  if  they  held  the 
tithe  of  our  title  they  would  fi^ht  the  world  for  what  we 
depreciate.  It  is  not  a  worthless  country,  but  one  of 
immense  value,  and  that  under  many  aspects,  and  will 
be  occupied  by  others,  to  our  injury  and  annoyance,  if 
not  by  ourselves  for  our  own  benefit  and  protection. 
Forty  years  ago  it  was  written  by  Humboldt  that  the 
banks  of  the  Columbia  presented  the  only  situation  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  America  fit  for  the  residence  of 
a  civilized  people.  Experience  has  confirmed  the  truth 
of  this  wise  remark. 

It  is  valuable,  both  as  a  country  to  be  inhabited  and 
as  a  position  to  be  held  and  defended.  I  speak  of  it, 
first,  as  a  position,  commanding  the  North  Pacific  Ocean, 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  331 

and  overlooking  .the  eastern  coast  of  Asia.  The  North 
Pacific  is  a  rich  sea,  and  is  already  the  seat  of  a  great 
commerce;  British,  French,  American,  Russian,  and 
ships  of  other  nations  frequent  it.  Our  whaling  ships 
cover  it,  our  ships  of  war  go  there  to  protect  our 
interest,  and,  great  as  that  interest  now  is,  it  is  only  the 
beginning.  Futurity  will  develop  an  immense  and  va- 
rious commerce  on  that  sea,  of  which  the  far  greater 
part  will  be  American.  That  commerce,  neither  in 
the  merchant  ships  which  carry  it  on,  nor  in  the 
military  marine  which  protects  it,  can  find  a  port  to 
call  its  own,  within  twenty  thousand  miles  of  the  field 
of  its  operations.  The  double  length  of  the  two 
Americas  has  to  be  run,  a  stormy  and  tempestuous  cape 
to  be  doubled,  to  find  itself  in  a  port  of  its  own  country, 
while  here  lies  one  in  the  very  edge  of  its  field,  ours  by 
right,  ready  for  use,  and  ample  for  every  purpose  ot 
refuge  and  repair,  protection  and  domination.  Can  we 
turn  our  back  upon  it?  and,  in  turning  the  back, 
deliver  it  up  to  the  British  ?  Insane  and  suicidal  would 
be  the  fatal  act ! 

To  say  nothing  of  the  daily  want  of  such  a  port  in 
time  of  peace,  its  want  in  time  of  war  becomes  ruinous. 
If  we  abandon,  England  will  retain !  And  her  wooden 
walls,  bristling  with  cannon,  and  issuing  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  will  give  the  law  to  the  North  Pacific, 
permitting  our  ships  to  sneak  about  in  time  of  peace — 
sinking,  seizing,  or  chasing  them  away  in  time  of  war. 
As  a  position,  then,  and  if  nothing  but  a  rock  or  desert 
point,  the  possession  of  Columbia  is  invaluable  to  us ; 
and  if  becomes  our  duty  to  maintain  it  at  all  hazards. 


332  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMER/CA. 

"  Agriculturally  the  value  of  the  country  is  great ; 
and,  to  understand  it  in  all  its  extent,  this  large  country 
should  be  contemplated  under  its  different  divisions — 
the  threefold  natural  geographical  divisions  under  which 
it  presents  itself:  the  maritime,  the  middle,  and  the 
mountain  districts. 

Mr.  Benton  then  proceeds  to  speak  of  the  agricultural 
nature  of  the  country,  under  these  three  natural  geogra- 
phical divisions  and  discovers  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and  a  familiarity  with  statisti- 
cal information — which  show  him  to  be  a  master  of  his 
subject,  and  which  forcibly  exhibit  his  reasons  for  con- 
sidering "the  region,  drained  by  the  waters  of  the 
Columbia  as  one  of  the  valuable  divisions  of  the  North 
American  Continent." 

We  omit  this  portion  of  his  speech,  and  pass  to  the 
considerations  by  which  he  illustrates  the  commercial 
importance  of  Oregon.  He  says: 

"Commercially,  the  advantages  of  Oregon  will  be 
great — far  greater  than  any  equal  portion  of  the  Atlantic 
States.  'The  eastern  Asiatics,  who  will  be  their  chief 
customers,  are  more  numerous  than  our  customers  in 
western  Europe,  more  profitable  to  trade  with,  and  less 
dangerous  to  quarrel  with.  Their  articles  of  commerce 
are  richer  than  those  of  Europe ;  they  want  what  the 
Oregons  will  have  to  spare,  bread  and  provisions,  and 
have  no  systems  of  policy  to  prevent  them  from  pur- 
chasing these  necessaries  of  life  from  those  who  can  sup- 
ply them.  The  sea  which  washes  their  shores  is  every 
way  a  better  sea  than  the  Atlantic  ;  richer  in  its  whale 
and  other  fisheries ;  in  the  fur  regions  which  enclose  it 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  333 

to  the  north ;  more  fortunate  in  the  tranquillity  of  its 
character,  in  its  freedom  from  storms,  gulf  streams  and 
icebergs;  in  .its  perfect  adaptation  to  steam  naviga- 
tion ;  in  its  intermediate  or  half  way  islands  and  its 
myriad  of  rich  islands  on  its  further  side;  in  its  freedom 
from  maritime  powers  on  its  coasts,  except  the  Ameri- 
can, which  is  to  grow  up  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 
As  a  people  to  trade  with,  as  a  sea  to  navigate,  the  Mon- 
golian race  of  eastern  Asia,  and  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean,  are  far  preferable  to  the  European  and  the  At- 
lantic. 

"  It  would  seem  that  the  White  race  alone  received 
the  divine  command  to  subdue  and  replenish  the  earth! 
for  it  is  the  only  race  that  has  obeyed  it — the  only  one 
that  hunts  out  new  and  distant  lands,  and  even  a  New 
World,  to  subdue  and  replenish.  Starting  from  western 
Asia,  taking  Europe  for  their  field,  and  the  sun  for  their 
guide,  and  leaving  the  Mongolians  behind,  they  ar- 
rived, after  many  ages,  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
which  they  lit  up  with  the  lights  of  science  and  reli- 
gion, and  adorned  with  the  useful  and  the  elegant  arts. 
Three  and  a  half  centuries  ago,  this  race,  in  obedience 
to  the  great  command,  arrived  in  the  New  World,  and 
found  new  lands  to  subdue  and  replenish.  For  a  long 
time  it  was  confined  to  the  border  of  the  new  field  (I 
now  mean  the  Celtic  Anglo-Saxon  division)  ;  and  even 
forescore  years  ago  the  philosophic  Burke  was  considered 
a  rash  man  because  he  said  the  English  colonists  would 
top  the  Alleghanies,  and  descend  into  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  occupy  without  parchment,  if  the  Crown 


334  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

refused  to  make  grants  of  land.  What  was  considered 
a  rash  declaration  eighty  years  ago,  is  old  history,  in 
our  young  country,  at  this  day.  Thirty  years  ago,  I 
said  the  same  thing  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the 
Columbia :  it  was  ridiculed  then ;  it  is  becoming  history 
to-day.  The  venerable  Mr.  Macon  has  often  told  me 
that  he  remembered  a  line  low  down  in  North  Carolina, 
fixed  by  a  royal  governor  as  a  boundary  between  the 
Whites  and  the  Indians  :  where  is  that  boundary  now  ? 
The  van  of  the  Caucasian  race  now  top  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  spread  down  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 
In  a  'few  years  a  great  population  will  grow  up  there, 
luminous  with  the  accumulated  lights  of  European  and 
American  civilization.  Their  presence  in  such  a  posi- 
tion cannot  be  without  its  influence  upon  eastern  Asia. 
'The  sun  of  civilization  must  shine  across  the  sea :  so- 
cially and  commercially  the  van  of  the  Caucasians  and 
the  rear  of  the  Mongolians  must  intermix.  They  must 
talk  together,  and  trade  together,  and  marry  together. 
Commerce  is  a  great  civilizer,  social  intercourse  as  great, 
and  marriage  greater.  The  White  and  Yellow  races 
can  marry  together,  as  well  as  eat  and  trade  together. 
Moral  and  intellectual  superiority  will  do  the  rest ;  the 
White  race  will  take  the  ascendant,  elevating  what  is 
susceptible  of  improvement,  wearing  out  what  is  not. 
The  Red  race  has  disappeared  from  the  Atlantic  coast : 
the  tribes  that  resisted  civilization  met  extinction.  This 
is  a  caus£  of  lamentation  with  many.  For  my  part,  1 
cannot  murmur  at  what  seems  to  be  the  effect  of  Divine 
law.  f  I  cannot  repine  that  this  Capitol  has  replaced  the 
wigwam — this  Christian  people  replaced  the  savages — 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  335 

white  matrons  the  red  squaws,  and  that  such  men  as 
Washington,  Franklin,  and  Jefferson  have  taken  the 
place  of  Powhattan,  Opechonecanough,  and  other  red 
men,  howsoever  respectable  they  may  have  been  as 
savages.  Civilization  or  extinction  has  been  the  fate 
of  all  people  who  have  found  themselves  in  the  track  of 
the  advancing  Whites,  and  civilization,  always  the  pre- 
ference of  the  Whites,  has  been  pressed  as  an  object 
while  extinction  has  followed  as  a  consequence  of  its 
resistance.  The  black  and  the  red  races  have  often 
felt  their  ameliorating  influence.  The  yellow  race,  nexl 
to  themselves  in  the  scale  of  mental  and  moral  excellence, 
and  in  the  beauty  of  form,  once  their  superiors  in  the 
useful  and  elegant  arts,  and  in  learning,  and  stiil  respecta- 
ble though  stationary ;  this  race  cannot  fail  to  receive  a 
new  impulse  from  the  approach  of  the  Whites,  improved 
so  much  since  so  many  ages  ago  they  left  the  western 
borders  of  Asia.  The  apparition  of  the  van  of  the  Cau- 
casian race,  rising  upon  them  in  the  east  after  having 
left  them  on  the  west,  and.  after  having  completed  the 
circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  must  wake  up  and  re- 
animate the  torpid  body  of  old  Asia.  ,Our  position  and 
policy  will  commend  us  to  their  hospitable  reception: 
political  considerations  will  aid  the  action  of  social  and 
commercial  influences.  Pressed  upon  by  the  great 
Powers  of  Europe- -the  same  that  press  upon  us — they 
must  in  our  appr^tu  :.  see  the  advent  of  friends,  not  of 
foes;  of  benefactors,  not  of  invaders.  The  moral  and 
intellectual  superiority  of  the  White  race  will  do  the 
rest;  and  thus,  the  youngest  people,  and  the  newest 


336  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

land,  will  become  the  reviver  and  the  regenerator  of  the 
oldest. 

"  It  is  in  this  point  of  view,  and  as  acting  upon  the 
social,  political,  and  religious  condition  of  Asia,  and 
giving  a  new  point  of  departure  to  her  ancient  civiliza- 
tion, that  I  look  upon  the  settlement  of  the  Columbia 
river  by  the  van  of  the  Caucasian  race  as  the  most  mo- 
mentous human  event  in  the  history  of  man  since  his 
dispersion  over  the  face  of  the  earth." 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  a  great  variety  of  sam- 
ples from  Mr.  Benton's  speeches,  but  the  above  are  suffi- 
cient for  our  purpose,  and  we  have  room  for  no  more. 
We  proceed  to  speak  more  particularly  of  his  character 
as  an  orator.  He  is,  we  think  eminently  laborious, 
imperious,  and  democratic  in  his  habits,  spirit,  and 
style. 

In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Benton  is  uncommonly  indus- 
trious in  preparing  for  public  discussions,  and  in  the 
discharge  of  professional  duties.  It  has  been  said  of 
Macaulay,  that  he  is  one  of  the  great  guns  of  debate, — • 
one  which  it  takes  a  long  time  to  load,  and  still  more  to 
bring  into  position  :  when  fired  it  makes  a  great  noise, 
hurts  some  of  the  enemy,  perhaps,  and  frightens  more  : 
but  the  action  is  always  decided  before  the  gun  can  be 
reloaded.  Not  so  with  Benton,  since  he  is  ever  sup- 
plied with  a  great  amount  of  ammunition  fitted  to  every 
mode  of  warfare,  and  which  he  can  bring  into  effective 
use  in  the  most  sudden  and  momentous  crisis.  The 
foregoing  specimens  exhibit  the  affluence  of  his  statis- 
tical information,  gathered  from  all  reliable  sources,  and 
fitted  to  aid  the  attainment  of  all  practical  designs. 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  337 

When  it  is  calm  in  the  Senate,  he  is  busy  in  the 
archives  of  the  nation,  exploring  our  history  and  study- 
ing our  wants,  that  whenever  a  political  storm  arises 
he  may  rush  to  the  arena  fully  equipped  and  "ready  for 
any  fate." 

It  is  only  by  perpetual  industry  that  one  can  acquire 
adequate  resources,  and  use  them  with  pleasure  as  well 
as  with  effect.  The  less  we  confine  ourselves  to  limited 
fields  and  particular  models,  the  more  we  shall  profit  by 
universal  excellence,  and  the  nearer  we  shall  approxi- 
mate in  our  habitual  execution  to  the  great  general 
rules  of  exalted  nature  and  elaborate  art. 

In  the  second  place,  all  who  have  heard  Mr.  Benton 
much,  know  that  he  habitually  bears  an  imperious  aspect, 
and  is  not  unfrequently  betrayed  by  strong  feeling  into 
imperious  action,  in  public  speech.  He  carries  the  con- 
sciousness of  high  station,  and  the  air  of  high  talent ;  a 
portable  treasure  of  confidence,  which  it  is  difficult  to 
fathom  and  dangerous  to  offend.  Generally  he  is  busy 
at  his  desk,  with  heaps  of  books  and  papers  all  around, 
and  with  pen  in  hand,  ready  to  transcribe  a  precedent, 
note  a  blunder,  or  project  an  argument.  But  when 
there  is  no  important  business  going  forward,  he  still 
preserves  a  magisterial  dignity  of  deportment,  throwing 
back  his  head  and  forming  with  his  chin  an  obtuse  angle 
with  the  horizon,  as  if  to  repel  all  familiarity  and  make 
the  most  of  every  moment  as  it  flies. 

Mr.  Benton  is  not  one  of  those  who  "  let  I  dare  not — 

wait  upon  I  would,"  like  the  poor  cat  in  the  adage.     He 

is  resolute  and  daring  in  debate,  sometimes  to  a  reckless 

degree.     The  manner  in  which  he  recently  conducted 

15 


338  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  defence  of  his  son-in-law  illustrates  what  we  mean 
by  the  magisterial  element  of  his  nature.  It  is  hard  for 
him  to  endure  restraint,  and  when  too  much  chafed  he 
fiercely  acts  the  part  of  a  hero,  like  Macbeth,  who  "  un- 
seemed  a  man  from  the  nave  to  the  chaps."  Anger,  we 
know  it  has  been  said,  is  one  of  the  sinews  of  the  soul : 
he  that  wants  it  hath  a  maimed  mind.  But  there  is 
danger  that  this  element  may  so  much  prevail  as  to  dis- 
figure its  possessor  rather  than  fortify  or  ennoble  him. 
Moderation  is  the  silken  string  running  through  the 
pearl- chain  of  all  virtues,  without  which  the  orator 
suffers  more  than  any  other  man,  since  he  can  command 
others  only  so  far  as  he  commands  himself. 

The  utility  of  high  mettle  is  found  in  being  docile  to 
the  curb  while  it  needs  not  the  spur.  A  man  must  have 
spirit  or  he  cannot  hope  to  have  influence.  Tamely  to 
shrink  from  a  collision  with  his  equals  or  superiors,  will 
inevitably  and  speedily  lead  him  to  sink  below  himself. 
He  who  is  afraid  to  express  a  strong  opinion,  or  to  strike 
a  hard  blow,  for.  fear  that  the  word  or  the  blow  may  be 
retaliated,  is  a  mental  coward  of  the  most  abject  type. 
Such  persons  soon  form  the  base  habit  of  throwing  them- 
selves on  the  forbearance  of  their  antagonists,  and  find 
impunity  in  their  insignificance.  So  long  as  they  are 
thus  afraid  of  making  enemies  they  never  deserve  to 
have  true  friends  and  seldom  find  them. 

In  saying  that  Mr.  Benton  is  laborious  as  a  student, 

and  magisterial  in  attitude  and  manner  as  an  orator,  we 

should  particularly  observe,  thirdly,  that  he  is  democratic 

in  purpose  and  humane  in  spirit.     He  professes  to  seek 

-  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number,  and  this  i> 


THOMkS    H.    BENTON.  339 

doubtless  the  source  of  his  most  palpable  faults  and  fair- 
est virtues.  It  is  said  that  he  is  sometimes  too  fractious 
for  a  dignified  Senator  ;  but  it  is  quite  probable  that  his 
energy  is  that  of  deep,  conscientious  conviction,  rather 
than  .ephemeral  passion.  He  is  too  egotistical,  say 
others,  not  sufficiently  remembering,  perhaps,  that  one 
may  seem  to  be  most  guilty  in  this  respect,  when  in 
reality  he  is  least  blameworthy  The  speaker  who 
sees  a  grand  principle  most  clearly,  and-  feels  its  value 
most  acutely,  will  for  this  very  good  reason  be  most  like- 
to  say,  /assert  this  or  /  believe  that.  This  kind  of  ego- 
tism is  infinitely  more  praiseworthy  than  the  .too  com- 
mon iuism  which,  with  crafty  circumlocution,  affects  a 
modest  air  in  order  the  more  basely  to  secrete  a  cow- 
ardly and  selfish  aim.  The  orator  in  question  has  ever 
been  free  and  independent  in  his  habits  of  thought  and 
action,  evidently  sincere  in  his  convictions,  and  bold, 
but  not  pertinaciously  impertinent,  in  enforcing  them. 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  his  doctrines,  or  his  mode 
of  stating  them,  it  is  certain  no  honest  antagonist  will 
accuse  him  of  duplicity  or  servility  of  spirit.  Just  as 
the  slavery  of  the  body  causes  the  moral  sensitiveness 
to  languish,  so  intellectual  vassalage  enervates  the  imag- 
ination and  deadens  the  'soul.  The  mind,  in  its  daring 
excursions  and  fearless  expressions,  mnst  explore  the 
realms  of  thought  and  fancy  with  a  native  and  enthusi- 
astic freedom,  like  Sinbad  in  the  Valley  of  Diamonds, 
and  while  thus  surrounded  by  invaluable  riches,  the  ad- 
venturer, at  liberty  to  choo?e  and  use  for  himself,  will 
disdain  all  but  the  most  resplendent  gems. 

Mr.  Benton  has  long  been  u:i  apostle  of  republican- 


340  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ism,  and  sometimes  his  constitutional  ardor  may  have 
hurried  him  to  the  verj'  verge  of  demagogical  fury, 
but  we  are  not  aware  that  this  has  ever  been  prompted 
by  an  ambition  either  to  obtain  office  or  increase  worldly 
emoluments.  For  many  years  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  observe  the  dragon  reed  of  cunning  and  powerful 
monopolists  swarming  thick  around  the  masses  of  their 
countrymen  to  deprive  them  of  lawful  rights, 

"And  not  content  the  fruits  to  gather  free, 
He  lends  the  crowd  his  arm  to  shake  the  tree." 

In  our-  day  the  people  at  large  are  rapidly  growing 
indisposed  longer  to  tolerate  great  wrongs,  whether  of 
regal  or  republican  stamp.  What  is  most  needed  is  a 
class  of  bold,  brave,  and  good  leaders,  who  dare,  by 
precept  and  example,  to  "  speak  the  truth  and  do  the 
right,'' — patriots  who  in  the  most  exalted  sphere  will 
shrink  from  no  browbeating  and  tyrannical  aristocrat, 

"  Although  his  ancient  but  ignoble  blood 
Has  crept  through  scoundrels  ever  since  the  flood." 

The  purest  eloquence  is  always  democratic  in  spirit, 
because  it  has  public  utility  for  its  aim,  and  human  hap- 
piness for  its  inspiration.  It  always  leads,  and  mainly 
sustains  the  great  contention  of  the  many  against  the 
few,  for  the  recovery  of  their  rights  and  the  assertion  of 
their  interests.  True  eloquence  is  essentially  demo- 
cratical,  since  it  deals  with  the  universal,  appeals  to  the 
common  heart  of  man,  and  labors  to  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  all  mankind.  Its  chief  ingredients  are  feeling, 


THCMAS    H.    BENTON.  341 

thought,  and -passion,  and  not  external  rank,  glitter,  or 
station.  It  is  not  a  power  only,  but  beneficent  goodness 
also.  The  finest  displays  of  moral  grandeur, — such  as 
those  which  portray  Prometheus,  blessing  the  human 
race  and  defying  the  thunder  of  Jove,  even  when 
chained  to  the  barren  rock,  with  the  vulture  gnashing 
at  his  heart, — are  but  the  principles  which  in  every  age 
have  animated  the  heroes  who  have  struck  for  freedom, 
braving  the  dungeon,  the  stake,  and  the  scaffold,  in  their 
devotion  to.  liberty,  and  their  determination  to  emanci- 
pate themselves  and  their  fellow- creatures  from  every 
iniquitous  bond.  The  noblest  times  of  free  government 
have  ever  been  the  grandest  eras  of  oratorical  develop- 
ment. "  Thus  it  triumphed  in  ancient  Greece ;  its  revi- 
val in  modern  days  was  when  mind  first  broke  loose 
from  the  superstition  of  ages,  heaved  off  the  authority 
of  the  church  and  the  schools,  and  entwined  itself  with 
the  feeling  and  the  tendencies  of  human  life.  It  ever 
has  an  affinity,  not  with  the  few  in  their  distinctions, 
but  with  the  many  in  their  common  properties,  passions, 
fears,  sorrows,  rejoicings,  and  triumphs.  It  invites  man 
as  it  were,  to  a  great  feast,  of  which  nature  is  the  pro- 
vision in  all  its  diversity — for  eloquence,  like  poetry,  is 
the  reflection  of  nature  in  the  human  soul ;  and  there  it 
offers  him,  not  unsubstantial  fare  in  gilded  dishes,  but 
angels'  food,  and  nectar  of  the  gods.  Imagination  is  the 
truth-seeing  and  beauty-seeing  power ;  it  is  that  which 
appreciates  sublimity  and  loveliness,  whether  physical 
or  moral ;  and  by  it  man  grows  up  into  like  order  and 
harmony,  and  in  similar  loveliness ;  he  aspires  towards 


842  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

an  affinity  of  grandeur,  and  realizes  the  purposes  of  his 
own  existence  in  this  majestic  world." 

Every  orator  really  inspired,  and  who  moulds  his  pub- 
lic life  according  to  the  promptings  of  his  better  nature, 
will  instinctively  plead  the  native  rights  of  the  many 
rather  than  prostitute  his  talents  to  promote  the  unna- 
tural immunities  of  the  few.  It  is  riot  uncommon  that 
we  see  even  the  veteran  in  partisan  warfare,  if  really 
well  endowed,  yield  to  the  nobler  promptings  of  his  soul, 
and  breathe  a  magnanimous  strain  which  at  once  sur- 
prises and  delights  both  friends  and  foes.  We  may  re- 
gard such  a  man  as  in  the  position  of  the  old  prophet 
Balaam;  when  he  intends  to  curse  democracy,  he  is 
obliged,  from  the  power  of  truth  within  him,  to  bless  it. 
He  is  like  the  soothsayer,  sent  for  from  a  far  country — 
the  seven  altars  erected  for  sacrifice — the  incense  rising 
in  clouds ;  but  when  the  inspiration  comes,  instead  of 
malediction  upon  the  people,  he  begins  : — "  How  goodly 
are  thy  tents.  O  Jacob!  and  thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel!" 

We  live  in  an  age  which  demands  the  services  oi 
men  as  industrious,  resolute,  and  magnanimous  as  Mr. 
Benton,  or  any  other  public  functionary  can  be.  We 
need  master-spirits  in  every  exalted  sphere,  whose  dig- 
nity is  inherent  and  not  assumed,  a  natural  nobility  of 
soul  which  commands  spontaneous  reverence  ;  and  not 
that  pompous  and  arrogant  grandeur  as  vulgar  as  it  is 
mean,  the  incarnation  of  insolence  and  utterly  unwor- 
thy of  respect.  What  the  great  commonality  wants  is 
moral  force,  soul,  manliness.  These  qualities,  united 
with  sound  judgment  and  fertile  imagination,  contribute 
perpetual  delight  and  admiration  to  the  uneducated, 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  343 

as  well  as  to  the  most  highly  cultivated  minds.  The; 
multitude  prefers  rugged  naturalness  in  an  inferior  order 
of  eloquence,  to  feebleness  and  insipidity  in  the  highest. 
Even  manifest  defects  become  a  man,  when  they 
are  of  natural  growth,  and  the  bold  elements  of  an 
original  character.  Of  this  truth  we  have  a  striking  in- 
stance in  Mirabeau. 

We  are  to  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the  most 
mighty  champions  have  ever  been  the  gentlest.  The 
greatest  geniuses  on  earth,  in  all  their  grandest  and  most 
beautiful  conceptions,  never  overstep  the  modesty  of 
nature,  however  wild  their  fancy,  or  fervid  their  feelings. 
Dignified  and  effective  passion  never  expresses  itself  in 
violence  and  grimace. 

All  extraordinary  excellence  is  produced  not  by  any 
one  quality,  but  by  the  combined  influence  of  many ;  it 
is  not  exclusive  sublimity  of  conception,  the  most  acute 
discrimination  of  character,  the  widest  sphere  of  com- 
prehension, the  most  judicious  and  elaborate  composi- 
tion, nor  the  greatest  pungency  of  expression:  it  is 
rather  the  union  and  simultaneous  action  of  all  these 
kindred  powers.  Energy  of  conception,  and  refinement 
of  taste  are  the  leading  elements,  so  that  grace  of  exe- 
cution and  perfection  of  finish  go  hand  in  hand ;  but  the 
result  when  complete  is  many-sided,  .comprising  diver- 
sified elements,  each  one  admirable  in  itself.  The  ele- 
gance and  truth  of  the  details  equal  the  intrinsic  worth 
and  symmetrical  giandeur  of  the  whole. 

How  much  of  this  excellence  Mr.  Benton  possesses, 
we  leave  the  reader  to  infer  from  the  specimens  adduced 
above,  and  the  traits  portrayed.  That  he  may  be  much 


344  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

more  fully  prepared  to  form  a  just  conception  of  the  pri- 
vate worth,  as  well  as  public  usefulness  of  the  distin- 
guished subject  of  our  own  very  imperfect  sketch,  we 
subjoin  the  following  conclusion  of  the  biographical  no- 
tice with  which  we  began : 

"  In  all  the  domestic  relations  of  life,  Col.  Benton  is  a 
remarkably  exemplary  man ;  he  is  highly  fortunate  and 
happy  in  his  family.  He  mixes  little  in  general  society, 
being  but  rarely  tempted  by  any  of  its  attractions  from 
his  own  fireside,  his  family,  studies,  and  the  public  busi- 
ness to  which  his  zealous  attention  is  unremitting.  In 
person  he  is  large,  robust,  of  florid  complexion,  and 
powerful  frame,  capable  of  enduring  fatigue,  both  men- 
tal and  physical,  under  which  but  few  other  men  could 
bear  up.  His  reputation  has  been  frequently  assailed, 
with  reference  to  his  early  youth,  with  slanders  utterly 
false  and  base,  of  which  he  has  never  condescended  to 
take  the  slightest  notice — imitating,  in  this  self-confident 
scorn  of  such  unworthy  assailants,  the  example  of  the 
great  founder  of  his  political  school,  Jefferson. 

"  One  remarkable  trait  of  his  public  life  deserving  ot 
notice,  is  the  elevation  of  his  ambition  above  the  attrac- 
tions of  office.  No  one  can  doubt  that  during  the  late 
administration,  his  wish  could  have  readily  commanded 
from  Gen.  Jackson — to  whom  he  rendered  a  support, 
made,  by  their  peculiar  personal  relation,  so  honorable  to 
both — almost  any  such  gratification  within  the  gift  of  the 
latter.  He  has  always,  however,  preferred  to  any  other 
the  seat  which  he  has  so  long  occupied  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  as  the  post  (during  all  that  time)  of 


THOMAS    H.    BENTON.  315 

the  highest  usefulness  to  the  cause  of  his  principles,  and 
therefore  of  the  highest  honor. 

"  In  the  style  of  his  oratory,  Col.  Benton  is  forcible 
and  very  effective  in  the  powerful  struggle  of  debate. 
His  manner  is  rhetorical,  and  he  is  at  times  too  diffuse. 
He  is  often  singularly  happy  in  his  metaphorical  illus- 
trations, in  which  he  is  very  abundant,  though  he  is 
sometimes  hurried,  in  the  flow  of  his  language,  into 
metaphors,  which  once  entangled  in  them,  it  is  not  easy 
to  manage  very  gracefully.  A  progressive  improve- 
ment in  his  oratory  has,  however,  been  very  evident 
within  the  last  few  years,  his  taste  being  purified 
from  some  bad  habits  of  style,  by  which  it  was  for- 
merly disfigured.  He  may  be  said  literally,  according 
to  the  well-known  maxim  of  Cicero,  to  have  made 
himself  an  orator,  having  had  to  struggle  against  the 
apparently  natural  disadvantages  of  an  incorrect  and 
false  taste.  We  have  heard  the  remark  made  by  one 
of  his  friends,  that  his  best  speech  will  not  be  delivered 
for  ten  years  yet  to  come,  and  that  he  will  have  attained 
the  age  at  which  Cicero  achieved  his  highest  triumph, 
before  he  will  have  brought  out  all  the  capacity  of  elo- 
quence within  him.  He  is  laborious  in  preparation  of 
his  materials,  as  he  is  usually  luminous  and  forcible  in 
their  arrangement  and  use.  Some  of  his  best  efforts 
have,  however,  been  entirely  extemporaneous.  He 
has  that  faculty  indispensable  to  greatness,  a  strong 
memory  ;  and  his  extensive  reading,  and  particularly 
his  familiarity  with  all  ancient  and  modern  history, 
often  supplies  him  with  happy  and  striking  illustrations 
of  his  positions.  But  his  great  strength  consists  in  the 
15* 


346  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

sincere  force  of  his  own  convictions ;  in  his  unhesitating 
confidence  in  the  eventual  support  of  his  opinions  by 
the  verdict  of  the  public  judgment ;  in  the  firmness  and 
earnestness  of  his  own  will ;  in  the  accumulation  of 
facts  which  he  brings  to  bear  upon  his  subject,  driving 
his  nail  home  with  repeated  blows  of  a  hammer  that 
tells  whenever  it  strikes.  He  is  not  generally  esteemed 
a  pleasing  speaker,  we  believe,  by  the  frequenters  of  the 
Senate  galleries ;  but  in  that  body  itself  he  often  carries 
great  weight,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his 
speeches  within  the  last  six  or  eight  years  have  told 
with  a  more  abiding  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  country 
at  large  than  those  of  any  other  individual." 


**-       * 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON, 

THE    INSPIRED    DECLAIMER. 

WE  loVe  good  speaking,  and  will  make  almost  any 
sacrifice  to  enjoy  the  best.  Ten  years  ago,  we  per- 
formed a  lon]|  imd  expensive  journey  to  Washington,  on 
purpose  to  hear  the  lions  roar.  At  that  time,  what  an 
array  of  talent-there  was  in  Congress!  The  morning 
after  our  arrival,  we  hurried  to  the  Capitol,  glanced  at 
the  works  of  art  and  the  elegant  grounds,  waiting  for 
the  doors  to  open,  when  we  immediately  ensconced 
qurself  in  the  Senate  gallery.  The  dignitaries  soon  be- 
gan to  drop  into  their  seats.  Some  of  them  we  had 
seen  elsewhere,  and  the  most  were  recognized  at  once> 
from  prints  or  verbal  descriptions.  But  there  was. one 
in  particular  whom  we  were  anxious  to  see  and  hear. 
Newspaper  accounts  of  his  matter  and  manner  had  ex- 
cited the  liveliest  curiosity,  and  we  had  come  a  weary 
way  to  seek  its  gratification 

"Pray,  sir,"  said  we  to  a  reporter,  "which  is  Mr. 
Preston  ?" 

"  That's  him,"  was  the  reply,  pointing  to  a  somewhat 
large  and  decidedly  heavy-looking  personage,  with  brown 


348  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

coat  and  a  little  switch  cane,  round-shouldered,  yellow- 
ish wig,  and  florid  complexion,  trudging  about  with 
good-natured  greetings  to  all  in  a  kind  of  whining  tone 
and  careless  air,  everywhere  met  with  smiles,  and  with 
everybody  cracking  a  joke.  This  was  a  poser,  indeed. 
We  were  looking  for  a  prim,  scholastic  dignitary,  with 
a  most  refined  aspect  and  reserved  manner,  stooping  to 
small  talk  only  in  selectest  circles,  and  then  always  in 
ore  rotunda  style. 

Business  began  at  length,  and  it  was  worse  still.  This 
great  orator  of  South  Carolina,  of  whom  our  friend 
James  C.  Brooks  had  written  so  vividly,  arose  to  second 
a  resolution.  He  stood  in  a  most  unclassical  position, 
bending  forward,  with  his  hands  resting  on  two  desks 
beneath  him,  his  face  expressionless,  and  his  whole  de- 
livery as  devoid  of  our  preconceived  notions  as  it  could 
possibly  be.  Had  he  not  more  than  once  responded  to 
the  call  of  his  name,  we  should  have  doubted  his  iden- 
tity. 

But,  wait  a  bit.  An  expected  debate  was  postponed, 
and  a  bill  came  up  suddenly  for  final  action,  in  which 
Mr.  Preston  was  a  good  deal  interested.  It  was  a  criti- 
cal moment  for  the  measure  involved,  and  he  rose  again 
to  speak.  How  different!  Not  three  minutes  had 
passed  before  we  saw  a  new  man  there.  He  insensibly 
assumed  an  erect  position,  as  elastic  as  it  was  command- 
ing ;  his  countenance  changed  its  aspect  as  palpably  as 
the  landscape  is  changed  by  the  sun  bursting  through 
sombre  clouds ;  his  muscles  rounded  out  in  a  fuller  and 
fairer  symmetry ;  and  the  veins  of  his  forehead  swelled 
with  the  heated  currents  of  almost  preternatural  energv  • 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  349 

his  voice  was  suddenly  changed  into  deep  and  mellow 
tones,  with  now  and  then  a  slight  trembling  that  indi- 
cated intense  emotion  ;  those  short,  significant  sentences, 
so  peculiar  to  his  higher  efforts,  shot  out  in  every  direc- 
tion like  hissing  bolts  ;  every  eye  and  ear  of  a  rapidly 
gathered  throng  seemed  entranced  before  the  speaker  as 
he  fulmined  like  one  truly  inspired. 

Since  that  day  of  unexpected  disappointment  and 
unequalled  gratification,  we  have  heard  a  great  deal  of 
debating  in  Washington,  London,  and  Paris,  but  have 
never  met  a  second  WILLIAM  C.  PRESTON.  There 
may  be  others  who  are  sounder  logicians,  more  finical 
rhetoricians,  shrewder  politicians,  or  abstruser  meta- 
physicians ;  but  where  is  a  competitor,  who  can  excel 
him  in  lucid,  fiery,  and  captivating  declamation  ? 

It  is  not  our  purpose,  in  the  present  instance,  to  en- 
cumber ourselves  with  biographical  details.  We  have 
more  genial  matter  in  hand,  and  shall  proceed  at  once 
to  select  several  examples  of  our  orator's  composition, 
preparatory  to  an  analysis  of  his  peculiarly  pungent  elo- 
quence. We  begin  with  extracts  from  the  speech  de- 
livered by  Mr.  Preston  in  the  Senate,  March  1,  1836 
on  the  Abolition  question  : 

"  Mr.  President :  I  deeply  regret  the  course  which 
this  discussion  has  taken.  I  have  remarked  its  progress 
with  much  pain,  with  a  feeling  of  anxiety  and  depres- 
sion, which  I  find  great  difficulty  in  expressing.  It  has 
been  mixed  up  with  all  those  small  topics  of  party  and 
personal  bitterness  which,  whether  properly  or  not, 
enter  so  largely  into  the  ordinary  debates  of  the  Senate, 
but  which  are  altogether  misplaced,  and  dangerous 


350  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

when  connected  with  the  consideration  of  those  deep 
and  vital  interests  involved  in  any  discussion  of  the 
institution  of  slavery.  It  is  very  desirable,  as  has  been 
well  suggested  by  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  that, 
if  we  must  deliberate  on  this  subject,  we  do  so  with  all 
the  calmness  possible,  and  with  a  deliberate  and  com- 
bined effort  to  do  what  is  best  under  the  perilous  cir- 
cumstances which  surround  us,  uninfluenced  by  the 
paltry  purposes  of  party.  In  whatever  temper  you  may 
come  to  it,  the  discussion  is  full  of  danger.  The  fact 
that  you  are  deliberating  on  this  subject  of  slavery, 
inspires  my  mind  with  the  most  solemn  thoughts.  No 
matter  how  it  comes  before  you  ;  no  matter  whether  the 
question  be  preliminary  or  collateral,  you  have  no  juris- 
diction of  it  in  any  of  its  aspects.  These  doors  should 
be  closed  against  it ;  for  you  have  no  right  to  draw  .into 
question  here  an  institution  guaranteed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  on  which,  in  fact,  the  right  of  twenty-two 
Senators  to  a  seat  in  this  body  is  founded — and,  em- 
phatically, you  have  no  right  to  assail,  or  to  permit  to 
be  assailed,  the  domestic  relations  of  a  particular  section 
of  the  country,  which  you  are  incapable  of  appreciating 
—of  which  you  are  necessarily  ignorant — which  the 
Constitution  puts  beyond  your  reach,  and  which  a  fair 
courtesy,  it  would  seem,  should  exempt  from  your  dis- 
cussion. It  exacts  some  patience  in  a  southern  man,  to 
sit  here  and  listen,  day  after  day,  to  enumerations  of  the 
demoralizing  effects  of  his  household  arrangements  con- 
sidered  in  the  alstract — to  hear  his  condition  of  life 
lamented  over,  and  to  see  the  coolness  with  which  it  is 
proposed  to  admit  petitioners  who  assail,  and  vilify,  and 


^  WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  351 

pity  him,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  hurt  their  feelings 
if  we  do  not  listen  to  them.  We  sit  here  and  hear  all 
this,  and  more  than  this.  We  hear  ourselves  accused 
of  being  agitators,  because  we  ask  the  question,  is  it  the 
pleasure  of  the  Senate  to  hear  those  who  thus  assail  us? 
As  yet,  Mr.  President,  the  incendiaries  are  but  at  your 
door,  demanding  admittance,  and  it  is  yet  within  your 
power  to  say  to  them,  that  they  shall  not  throw  their  burn- 
ing brands  upon  this  floor,  or  propagate  the  conflagration 
through  this  Government.  Before  you  lend  yourself  to 
their  unhallowed  purposes,  I  wish  to  say  a  word  or  two 
upon  the  actual  condition  of  the  Abolition  question ;  for 
I  greatly  fear,  from  what  has  transpired  here,  that  it  is 
very  insufficiently  understood  ;  and  that  the  danger  of 
the  emergency  is  by  no  means  estimated  as  it  ought  to 
be.  God  forbid  that  I  should  permit  any  matter  of  tem- 
porary interest  or  passion  to  enter  into  what  I  am  about 
to  tell  you  of  the  real  dangers  which  environ  us.  My 
State  has  been  assailed.  Be  it  so.  My  peculiar  principles 
have  been  denounced.  I  submit  to  it.  Sarcasms,  intended 
to  be  bitter,  have  been  uttered  against  us.  Let  them  pass. 
I  will  not  permit  myself  to  be  disturbed  by  these  things, 
or,  by  retorting  them,  throw  any  suspicion  on  the  tem- 
per in  which  I  solemnly  warn  both  sections  of  this 
Union  of  the  impending  dangers,  and  exhort  this  Senate 
to  do  whatever  becomes  its  wisdom  and  patriotism  under 
the  circumstances.  Let  us  not  shut  our  eyes,  sir,  on  our 
condition.  Some  gentlemen  have  intimated  that  there 
is  a  purpose  to  get  up  a  panic.  No,  no,  sir.  I  have  no 
such  purpose.  A  panic  on  this  subject  is  a  disaster, 
The  stake  is  too  great  to  play  for  under  a  panic.  In 


352  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  presence  of  so  much  danger  as  I  solemnly  oelieve 
exists,  I  would  rather  steady  every  mind  to  the  coldest 
contemplation  of  it,  than  endeavor  to  excite  my  own,  or 
the  feelings  of  others,  by  adventitious  stimulants.  If  I 
over-estimate  the  magnitude  of  the  dangers  which 
threaten  us,  it  is  in  spite  of  myself,  against  my  wishes, 
and  after  the  most  deliberate  consideration. 

"  Look  round,  then,  sir,  on  the  circumstances  under 
which  these  numerous  and  daily  increasing  petitions  are 
sent  to  us.  They  do  not  come,  as  heretofore,  singly. 
and  far  apart,  from  the  quiet  routine  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  or  the  obscure  vanity  of  some  philanthropic 
club ;  but  they  are  sent  to  us  in  vast  numbers,  from 
soured  and  agitated  communities,  poured  in  upon  us 
from  the  overflowing  of  public  sentiment,  which  every- 
where, in  all  Western  Europe  and  Eastern  America,  has 
been  lashed  into  excitement  on  this  subject.  Whoever 
has  looked  at  the  actual  condition  of  society,  must  have 
perceived  that  the  public  mind  is  not  in  its  accustomed 
state  of  repose,  but  active,  and  stirred  up,  and  agitated 
beyond  all  former  example.  The  bosom  of  society 
heaves  with  new  and  violent  emotions.  The  general 
pulse  beats  stronger  and  quicker  than  at  any  period 
since  the  access  of  the  French  Revolution.  Public 
opinion  labors,  like  the  priestess  on  her  tripod,  with  the 
prophecy  of  great  events.  In  Germany,  in  France,  and 
in  England,  there  is  a  great  movement  party  organized 
upon  the  spirit  of  the  times,  whose  tendency  is  to  over- 
turn established  institutions,  and  remodel  the  organic 
forms  of  society,  for  whose  purposes  the  process  of  ex- 
periment is  too  slow,  and  the  action  of  reason  too 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON  353 

cold ;  whose  infuriated  philanthropy  goeth  about  seeking 
whom  it  may  devour.  To  these  ethical  or  political  en- 
thusiasts the  remote  and  unsustained  institution  of  sla- 
very offers  at  once  a  cheap  and  fruitful  subject.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  is  known  that  the  doctrinaire  and  juste 
milieu  party  of  France,  and  its  leading  paper,  the  Jour- 
nal des  Debats,  conducted  with  much  ability,  is  devoted 
to  the  purposes  of  abolitionism.  The  Due  de  Broglie, 
Prime  Minister  of  France,  with  St.  Domingo  before  his 
eyes,  is  president  of  an  abolition  society,  having  in  view 
the  manumission  of  the  slaves  in  the  French  West  Indies 
But  the  state  of  feeling  in  England  has  a  much  more 
direct  influence  upon  us,  and  is  therefore  of  more  import- 
ant investigation." 

Mr.  Preston  then  proceeds  to  speak  of  the  state  of 
the  public  mind  in  England,  in  relation  to  the  slave 
question — of  the  act  of  emancipation  by  the  British  Par- 
liament of  the  West  India  slaves,  which  he  traces  to 
the  individual  efforts  of  Wilberforce  and  Clarkson, — and 
remarks  on  the  morbid  sensibility  everywhere  prevalent 
in  relation  to  the  African  race — a  sensibility  pervading 
the  literature,  politics,  and  whole  organization  of  society, 
and  shows,  from  the  intimate  sympathies  existing  be- 
tween England  and  America,  how  great  an  influence 
must  be  excited  on  public  opinion  in  this  country,  and 
hence  warns  the  Senate  of  the  result. 

Passing  over  this  and  other  portions  of  this  speech, 
we  come  to  the  close  which  we  give  entire.  Let  the 
reader  conceive,  if  he  can,  the  perpetual  corruscation  of 
flashing  bolts  with  which  it  fell  from  the  impassioned 
orator. 


354  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

"  The  honorable  Senator,  (Mr.  Prentiss)  with  his 
characteristic  earnestness,  and  with  the  weight  commu- 
nicated to  everything  he  says,  by  the  high  estimate  of  his 
worth  and  ability,  and  the  known  gravity  of  his  mode 
of  thinking,  has  informed  us  that  amongst  these  peti- 
tioners are  men  of  as  much  worth  and  patriotism  as  are 
to  be  found  anywhere ;  and  the  .  honorable  gentleman 
himself  vindicates  the  petitioners  by  the  authority  of  4iis 
co-operation,  when  he  declares  here  in  his  place  that 
Congress  is  constitutionally  endowed  with  the  power  ot 
manumitting  the  slaves  in  this  District,  and  that  it  is  ex- 
pedient to  exercise  this  power.  But  a  short  time  since 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  which  the  gentleman  repre- 
sents passed  resolutions  that  the  matter  of  slavery  ought 
not  to  be  agitated.  Now,  the  Senator  things  it  expedi- 
ent to  #ct.  His  colleague,  too,  assures  us  that  the  pro- 
gress of  the  agitation  in  Vermont  is  greatly  accelerated ; 
that  seven  societies  have  been  recently  organized  in  one 
county;  and  that  he  hears  of  societies  springing  up  in 
quarters,  remote  neighborhoods,  where  he  had  supposed 
that  abolition  had  scarcely  been  heard  of.  Is  there  no- 
thing in  these  facts  ? 

"  Five  hundred  societies  are  now  organized,  and  in 
active  operation,  and  daily  increasing  in  numbers.  Is 
there  nothing  in  this?  In  these  wide-spread  associa- 
tions are  there  none  but  the  weak  and  base,  a  noisy  and 
impotent  rabble,  which  will  fret  itself  into  exhaustion  ? 
Or  are  they  composed,  as  all  such  popular  movements 
are,  of  a  mixed  multitude  of  all  those  whom  wild  enthu- 
siasm, mistaken  piety,  perverted  benevolence,  and  blind 
zeal,  hurry  and  crowd  together,  to  swell  the  torrent  of 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  355 

public  enthusiasm,  when  it  sets  strongly  towards  a  fa- 
vorite object  ?  However  humbly  I  may  think  of  the 
wisdom  of  these  people,  I  do  place  a  high  estimate  upon 
their  zeal  and  enterprise.  We  have  seen  what  these 
qualities  effected  in  England  on  this  subject,  and  they 
are  not  less  efficacious  here.  There  is  at  this  moment 
in  New  York  an  association  of  twenty -five  men  of  wealth 
and  high  standing,  who,  with  a  spirit  worthy  of  a  better 
cause,  have  bound  themselves  to  contribute  $40,000  a 
year  to  the  propagation  of  abolition  doctrines  through 
the  press.  Five  of  these  pay  $20,000  a  year,  and  one 
8,1000  a  month.  Such  is  the  spirit,  and  such  the  means 
to  sustain  it. 

"  Again,  I  demand,  sir,  do  these  things  indicate  no- 
thing ?  The  press  is  subsidized — societies  for  mutual 
inflammation  are  formed — men,  women,  and  children, 
join  in  the  petitions — rostrums  are  erected — itinerant 
lecturers  pervade  the  land,  preaching  up  to  nightly 
crowds  a  crusade  against  slavery.  The  pulpit  resounds 
with  denunciations  of  the  sin  of  slavery,  and  infuriate 
zealots  unfurl  the  banner  of  the  cross — the  standard  to 
which  the  abolitionist  is  to  rally.  The  cause  of  anti- 
slavery  is  made  identical  with  religion,  and  men  and 
women  are  exhorted,  by  all  that  they  esteem  holy,  by  all 
the  high  and  exciting  obligations  of  duty  to  man  and  to 
God,  by  all  that  can  warm  the  heart  or  inflame  the  ima- 
gination, to  join  in  the  pious  work  of  purging  the  sin  of 
slavery  from  the  land.  Gentlemen  have  told  us  of  the 
array  of  the  reverend  clergy  on  these  petitions.  In- 
fatuated and  deluded  men  !  In  the  name  of  charity, 
they  lay  a  scene  of  blood  and  massacre ;  in  the  bias 


356  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

phemed  name  of  the  religion  of  peace,  they  promote  a 
civil  and  servile  war  ;  they  invoke  Liberty  to  prostrate 
the  only  Government  established  for  its  preservation. 
But  what  voice  can  penetrate  the  deafness  of  fanaticism  ? 
It  neither  hears,  nor  sees,  nor  reasons,  but  feels,  and 
burns,  and  acts  with  a  maniac  force. 

"  Nor  are  the  all-exciting  topics  of  religion  the  only 
sources  from  which  this  turbid  and  impetuous  stream  is 
swollen.  All  the  sympathies  of  the  American  heart  for 
liberty,  (the  word  itself  has  a  magic  in  it,)  achieved 
through  war  and  revolution,  are  perverted  into  it. 
When  the  war-cry  is  'God  and  Liberty' — when  it  is 
thundered  from  the  pulpit,  and  re-echoed  from  the  press, 
and  caught  up  and  shouted  forth  by  hundreds  of  socie- 
ties, until  the  whole  land  rings  with  it,  shall  we  alone  not 
hear  it,  or,  hearing  it,  lay  the  flattering  unction  to  our 
souls  that  it  portends  nothing  ?  Be  not  deceived,  I  en- 
treat, gentlemen,  in  regard  to  the  power  of  the  causes 
which  are  operating  upon  the  population  of  the  non- 
slaveholding  States.  The  public  mind  in  those  States 
has  long  been  prepared  for  the  most  favorable  reception 
of  the  influences  now  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  It  has 
been  lying  fallow  for  the  seed  which  is  now  sown  broad- 
cast. A  deep  anti-slavery  feeling  has  always  existed  in 
the  Northern  and  Middle  States ;  it  is  inscribed  upon 
their  statute  books.  Each,  in  succession,  impelled  by 
this  feeling,  has  abolished  slavery  within  its  own  juris- 
diction ;  and  what  has  been  effected  there,  without  as 
yet  any  fatal  consequences,  unreflecting  ignorance  will 
readily  suppose  may  be  effected  everywhere  under  all 
circumstances.  The  spirit  of  propagandism  is  in  pro- 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  357 

portion  to  the  distance  of  the  object,  and  the  ignorance 
of  the  propagandist.  Of  the  whole  population  of  those 
States,  ninety-nine  hundredths  regard  the  institution 
with  decided  disapprobation,  and  scarcely  a  less  propor- 
tion entertain  some  vague  desire  that  it  should  be 
abolished,  in  some  way,  at  some  time,  and  believe  that 
the  time  will  come,  and  the  mode  be  devised.  They 
believe  that  slavery  is  bad  in  the  abstract,  and  not  in- 
curable as  it  exists.  The  remoteness  of  it  from  them- 
selves makes  them  at  once  more  ignorant  of  its  actual 
condition,  and  bolder  in  suggesting  remedies.  It  is  to 
such  a  temper  of  mind  that  the  inflammatory  appeals  I 
have  spoken  of  are  addressed. 

"  But  there  is  still  another  element  of  power,  scarcely 
less  than  either  of  those  I  have  adverted  to,  which  the 
incendiaries  will  not  be  slow  to  avail  themselves  of. 
Cast  your  eyes,  sir,  over  the  States  where  they  have 
already  gained  foothold,  and  mark  the  eagerness  and 
equality  with  which  two  great  political  parties  are 
struggling  for  ascendency.  Animated  by  the  utmost 
intenseness  of  party  spirit,  and  in  the  very  height  of  a 
contest  of  life  and  death,  they  will  be  willing  to  snatch 
such  arms  as  fury  may  supply,  and  avail  themselves  of 
such  auxiliaries  as  chance  may  offer.  A  third  party, 
even  were  it  less  numerous  than  the  abolitionists,  occu- 
pying for  a  time  a  neutral  position,  will  of  course  be 
able  to  decide  the  controversy.  Each  party  will  dread 
its  accession  to  the  other,  and  each  may,  perhaps  in 
turn,  court  its  influence.  Thus  its  consequence  is 
enhanced,  and,  deriving  strength  from  position,  it  ac- 
quires a  new  principle  of  augmentation,  until  it  becomes 


358  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

sufficiently  powerful  to  absorb  one  or  the  other  of  the 
contending  parties,  and  become  itself  the  principal  in 
the  controversy.  Then  are  added  party  spirit,  political 
ambition,  local  interests  ;  and,  with  all  this  aggregation 
of  strength  and  power,  think  you,  sir,  that  abolitionism, 
at  your  next  session,  will  pause  at  your  door,  waiting  to 
see  if  it  be  your  pleasure  to  ask  it  in  ?  Even  now,  sir, 
candidates  for  popular  favor  begin  to  feel  the  influence 
of  this  new  power.  The  very  fact  of  the  reluctance 
which  we  all  feel  to  agitate  this  matter  here,  bespeaks 
our  fears  of  exasperating  the  strength  which  we  instinc- 
tively know  resides  in  the  abolitionists.  Gentlemen  say 
we  must  tread  softly,  lest  we  wake  the  giant ;  we  must 
not  breathe  upon  the  spark,  lest  it  burst  into  a  blaze  ;  we 
must  bow  down  before  the  coming  storm  until  it  blows 
over,  for.  fear  that  it  will  prostrate  us  if  we  stand  up: 
and  while  the  policy  of  such  a  course  is  urged,  we  are 
told  there  is  no  danger. 

"No  gentleman  will  suppose  that  J  take  pleasure  in 
indicating  the  cause  of  growth,  or  the  present  strength 
of  the  abolitionists,  or  would  willingly  exaggerate  them. 
It  is  not,  I  confess,  without  the  deepest  apprehensions 
that  I  contemplate  them  ;  but  my  chief  fears  arise  from 
the  supineness  with  which  they  are  regarded  here,  on 
both  sides  of  the  House.  We  repose  in  a  false  and 
fatal  security.  I  am  amazed  and  dismayed  at  the  view 
which  my  friends  have  taken  of  these  matters.  I  know 
well  that  their  interest  is  identical  with  mine.  I  know 
their  honor  and  candor;  and" most  willingly  would  I 
indulge  in  their  soothing  hopes,  if  the  deepest  sense  of 
the  most  imperious  duty  did  not  exact  of  me  to  call 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  359 

upon  them  to  awake  to  a  sense  of  the  danger,  and  be 
prepared  to  meet  it  with  a  thorough  comprehension  of 
its  import ;  and  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  I  warn  and  exhort  gentlemen  to  take 
early  and  decided  counsel  as  to  what  is  fit  to  be  done. 
The  occasion  concerns  us  all,  not  perhaps  in  an  equal 
degree,  but  it  deeply  concerns  all  who  feel,  as  I  do,  a 
profound  veneration  for  the  Constitution,  and  an  ardent 
love  for  the  Union.  I  conjure  the  Senators  from  the 
non-slaveholding  States  to  approach  this  subject  with  a 
steady  regard  and  unfaltering  step  ;  to  come  to  the  task 
at  once,  before  it  is  too  late  ;  to  interpose  all  the  au- 
thority of  this  Government  between  the  incendiaries 
and  their  fatal  purposes;  and  to  pledge  the  moral 
weight  of  their  individual  characters  against  it. 

"  I  heartily  approve  the  sentiments  which  have  been 
generally  avowed  in  the  Senate,  and  appreciate  the  pa- 
triotic feelings  which  gentlemen  have  expressed  in 
regard  to  the  abolitionists.  I  have  read  with  unfeigned 
pleasure,  the  wise  communication  of  the  Governor  of ' 
New  York  to  his  Legislature,  and  am  gratified  to  be- 
lieve that  there  is  a  mass  of  intelligence  and  worth  in 
that  great  State,  as  well  as  in  others  of  the  Northern 
and  Middle  States,  which  deeply  disapproves  these  pro- 
ceedings. But  what  I  fear  is,  that  neither  here  nor 
elsewhere  is  there  a  sufficient  perception  of  the  immi- 
nence of  the  danger,  or  the  potency  and  permanency  of 
those  causes  which  create  it.  Even  honorable  gentle- 
men from  the  South,  who  have  all  at  stake ;  arflie 
whose  hearths,  and  in  whose  bed-chambers,  the  cry'^ 
thousands  is  invoking  murder,  in  the  name  of  God  an- 


360  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

liberty-:-with  the  example  of  Jamaica  and  St.  Domingo 
before  them,  even  they  are  not  sufficiently  aroused  to 
the  emergency.  I  entreat  them  to  awake :  I  invoke 
gentlemen  from  all  quarters,  of  all  parties,  to  unite  at 
once,  to  combine  here,  in  the  adoption  of  the  strongest 
measures  of  which  this  Government  is  capable,  and  thus 
to  enter  into  mutual  pledges  to  oppose,  by  all  possible 
means,  and  to  the  last  extremity,  the  destructive  and 
exterminating  doctrines  of  these  terrible  incendiaries. 
Signalize  your  opposition  by  the  most  decided  action. 
Stamp  their  nefarious  propositions  with  unqualified 
reprobation.  Throw  the  whole  authority  of  this  Gov- 
ernment against  them.  Pledge  the  authority  of  each 
Senator  in  his  own  State.  Say  to  the  abolitionists  that 
this  Government  will  in  no  event  be  made  an  instru- 
ment in  your  hands.  Say  to  the  South  that  this  pes- 
tilential stream  shall  not  be  poured  upon  you  through 
these  halls.  Give  us  the  strongest  measures.  If  you 
cannot  adopt  the  proposition  of  my  colleague,  let  us 
know  what  you  can  do.  The  matters  before  us  are  of 
the  deepest  consequence,  and  it  may,  perhaps,  not  be 
within  the  competence  of  this  Government  to  effect  an 
entire  remedy  of  the  evil.  Something,  however,  can  be 
done ;  you  may,  at  least,  save  yourselves  from  becoming 
either  passively  or  actively  accessory  to  the  result. 
Erect  yourselves  into  a  barrier  between  the  opposing 
sections.  Save  the  Union  if  you  can. 

"  If  things  go  much  farther,  you  may  find  this  no  easy 
their  :er  Recent  experience  has,  thank  God,  demon- 
ind%ted  that  this  Government  is  not  strong  enough  to 
^produce  disunion.  Will  it  be  strong  enough  to  prevent 


WILLIAM    C.    PREfeTON.  361 

it  it  proceedings  go  on, 'which  inevitably  make  two  peo- 
ple of  us,  warring  on  a  question  which,  on  the  one  side, 
involves  existence,  and  on  the  other,  arrays  all  the  fury 
of  fanaticism  ?  Think  you,  sir,  that,  if  you  have  not 
the  spirit  or  power  to  trample  out  the  brand  that  is 
thrown  amongst  us,  you  can  yet  bring  help  when  the 
whole  land  is  wrapped  in  conflagration  ?  If,  however, 
in  your  judgment  it  is  not  competent  or  expedient  to 
act  decisively,  tell  us  so.  Let  us  know  what  you  can 
or.  will  do,  and  we  will  consider  it,  and  bring  to  the 
consideration  of  it  a  candid  and  conciliatory  temper, 
anxious  to  find  safety  for  the  Constitution  in  your  mea- 
sures. Our  own  safety  is  in  our  own  keeping.  I  will 
not  more  than  allude  to  it  for  fear  of  misconstruction  ; 
but  while  with  the  most  painful  emotions  I  have  ad- 
verted to  the  dangers  of  our  situation,  while  with  the 
most  profound  solicitude  I  entreat  the  Senate  to  guard 
against  them,  I  know  that  the  South  has  the  power  and 
the  will  to  vindicate  its  rights  and  protect  itself.  Even 
if  it  were  destitute  of  the  high  spirit  which  characterizes 
it,  if  it  were  without  the  resources  which  abound  there, 
it  would  be  forced  into  a  position  of  self-defence  by  the 
inexorable  necessities  of  self-preservation.  The  South 
has  drawn  deep  lessons  of  instruction  from  the  colonial 
history  of  France  and  England.  St.  Domingo  and 
Jamaica  were  colonies  subject  to  the  dominion  of  a  for- 
eign power,  and  perished  because  they  were  colonies. 
Their  disastrous  history  is  not  recorded  in  vain.  I  will 
not  pursue  this  topic.  I  am  here  a  member  of  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  impressed  with  a  sense  of 
my  federal  duties,  and  in  discharge  of  them,  have  felt 
16 


362  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

myself  compelled  to  state  my  conception  of  the  perilous 
circumstances  in  which  ws  are,  because  I  fear  there  is 
a  fatal  misconception  in  regard  to  them.  It  is  possible, 
sir*  that  I  may  have  conceived  them  too  strongly.  I 
•wish  it  may  turn  out  so.  It  is  erring  on  the  safe  side 
to  magnify  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  if  you  intend  to 
encounter  him  with  fortitude  and  just  preparation. 
Many  friends  near  me  see  nothing  on  the  horizon  but  a 
floating  cloud,  which  the  summer  breeze  will  drive 
away.  I  see,  or  think  I  see,  the  gathering  of  a  tempest 
surcharged  with  all  the  elements  of  devastation.  If 
they  be  right,  it  is  happy  for  us  all ;  but  if  they  be 
wrong,  and  I  right,  and  the  blessed  moments  of  pre- 
paration are  thrown  away  until  the  storm  bursts,  they 
incur  an  awful  responsibility." 

The  happy  versatility  of  which  Mr.  Preston  is  capa- 
ble in  public  speech,  is  indicated  by  the  following  extract 
from  the  account  given  of  the  famous  Whig  Conven- 
tion, held  in  Baltimore  on  the  first  week  of  May,  1840  : 

"  The  Hon.  Wm.  C.  Preston,  the  eloquent  and  dis- 
tinguished Senator  from  South  Carolina,  next  responded 
to  the  call  of  the  Convention.  '  This/  said  he,  '  is 
the  happiest  day  of  my  life.  I  see  here  the  consumma- 
tion of  almost  all  that  I  had  hoped  for  from  the  earliest 
day  I  entered  public  life.  I  hate  tyranny,  and  from  my 
infancy  was  taught  to  despise  a  Tory.  I  was  born  a 
Whig,  and  am  yet  a  Whig.  The  Whigs  have  met  here,' 
continued  Mr.  Preston,  '  to  bring  peace  and  prosperity 
to  the  land,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  expressing  the  belief 
that  the  man  of  their  choice  will  maintain  and  consoli- 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON. 


date  the  great  national  institutions  and  enterprises  of 
the  country.'  Continuing  his  remarks, 

"Mr.  Preston  alluded  to  the  self-denying,  magnanimous, 
and  patriotic  conduct  of  Henry  Clay.  The  eulogium 
was  the  most  eloquent  we  have  heard,  and  the  audience 
heard  it  with  interest  and  delight,  Returning  to  Gen- 
eral Harrison,  he  said,  'I  will  devote  to  him  my  labor,  my 
thoughts,  my  person,  and  my  purse.  I  regard  the  Ohio 
farmer  as  a  true  and  devoted  patriot,  and  I  would  the 
news  of  this  day's  meeting  could  be  borne  to  him  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind.' 

"  Mr.  Preston,  in  concluding  his  remarks,  said,  he 
was  a  Southern  man,  and  happily  in  connection  with 
this  subject  did  he  allude  to  the  recent  demonstration  of 
opinion  from  the  'Old  Dominion.'  Harrison,  too,  he 
was  proud  to  say,  was  a  Virginian  born,  and  a  son  of 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He 
sprung,  too,  from  the  best  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  blood. 
He  was  a  (descendant  of  that  Harrison  who,  in  the'reign 
of  the  tyrant  Charles,  said  that,  '  as  he  was  a  tyrant,  I 
slew  him.'  Who,  said  Mr.  Preston,  can  boast  of  better 
blood  in  his  veins  than  this  descendant  of  the  king-de- 
stroying, despot-killing,  tyrant-hating  Harrison  ? 

"Mr.  Preston,  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  himself,  after 
exhorting  the  Whigs  to  use  their  anticipated  triumph  as 
not  abusing  it,  left  the  grave  a  moment  for  the  gay. 
Alas,  poor  Democrats,  farewell,  dear  Loco  Focos !  you 
have  had  your  day.  Every  dog  has  his  day !  It  is 
necessary,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  that  you  should  go  for  dimin- 
ished wages,  and  the  country  says  you  shall  go  for 
diminished  wages !  Again,  Mr.  Preston  drew  a  happy 


364  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

picture  of  the  4th  of  March,  1841.  He  supposed  that 
prince  of  Democrats,  Martin  Van  Buren,  to  be  here  in 
his  coach  and  four  horses.  Following  him  comes  Amos 
Kendall,  and  succeeding  him,  Levi  Woodbury  with 
his  empty  bags,  and  still  behind  these  worthies  the 
head  of  the  war  department,  Mr.  Poinsett,  the  author  of 
the  system  for  two  hundred  thousand  militia,  and  thirty- 
four  bloodhounds.  I  see  them  now,  said  Mr.  Preston, 
in  my  mind's  eye.  They  come  from  Washington — are 
seen  at  Fell's  Point, — now  at  Canton — and  some  one 
says  to  the  party  there  is  the  race  course  where  met  the 
National  Convention  in  May  last. 

"  Again,  Mr.  Preston  changed  his  manner,  and  in  a 
burst  of  eloquence  which  electrified  his  hearers,  ex- 
horted them  to  go  into  the  possession  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  public  affairs  with  clean  hands  and  honest 
hearts ;  and  first  of  all  to  proscribe  the  system  of  pro- 
scription which  had  dishonored  the  country.  Let  us 
wash  the  ermine  and  purify  the  seats  of  government. 
Mr.  Preston  also  made  a  happy  allusion  to  Cincinnatus 
the  ploughman,  citizen,  and  general.  In  many  respects 
Harrison  was  like  him,  but  the  spectacle  of  selecting  the 
humble  American  citizen  to  rule  over  the  nation  was  of 
the  moral  sublime,  and  far  eclipsed  anything  in  Grecian 
or  Roman  history, 

"  In  General  Harrison,  said  Mr.  Preston,  in  conclusion, 
I  believe  in  after  time  we  may  be  able  to  say,  that  the 
country  has  a  second  Washington  in  the  second  Harri- 
son. When  this  day  comes,  and  God  speed  the  time, 
for  one  I  will  be  content — rest  satisfied — leave  the  field 
of  labor, — and  say  like  one  of  oH — '  Now,  Lord,  lettest 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  305 

thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  glory.' " 

On  January  13th,  1841,  Mr.  Preston  delivered  in  the 
Senate  his  famous  speech  on  the  Pre-emption  Bill.  That 
effort  was  in  a  more  subdued  tone  than  is  usual  with 
him,  and  presented  a  vast  amount  of  statistical  informa- 
tion. The  following  continuous  passage,  taken  from  the 
main  body  of  the  speech,  will  best  exemplify  his  most 
substantial  manner  in  the  forum.  Having  submitted  a 
long  array  of  numerical  facts  to  substantiate  foregoing 
positions,  he  proceeds  to  say  : 

"  This  account  does  not  include  the  heavy  disburse- 
ments for  Indian  wars,  which,  swelled  by  the  recent 
enormous  expenses  in  Florida,  may  be  safely  set  down 
at  forty  millions  of  dollars.  With  this  very  large  bal- 
ance standing  against  the  land  yet  in  possession  of  the 
United  States,  if  the  calculation  of  the  value  of  that 
residue  made  by  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina  be  cor- 
rect, the  whole  will  not  reimburse  us,  much  less  the  65 
per  cent,  which  he  proposes  to  reserve.  And  thus  we 
shall  have  squandered  not  only  what  Virginia  and  the 
other  States  gave  us,  but  also  a  large  sum  of  money 
contributed  by  the  old  States  in  the  form  of  taxes  upon 
their  citizens  before  the  States  now  proposed  to  be  bene- 
fitted  were  in  existence.  In  this  most  obvious  view  of 
the  case,  we  give  out  of  the  treasury,  to  a  few  favored 
States,  35  per  cent,  of  many  millions  of  dollars  collect- 
ed from  the  other  States.  By  this  operation,  Virginia 
will  not  only  have  given  her  lands,  but  her  money  also 
She  will  have  transferred  her  property,  and  paid  a  sum 
to  those  who  take  it.  The  quantity  of  land  proposed 


1»66  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

to  be  surrendered  by  this  act  of  cession  is,  according  to 
the  report  of  the  select  committee,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-four  millions  of  acres,  lying  in  various  portions  of 
the  nine  selected  States.  Thirty-five  per  cent,  upon  this 
quantity  is  upwards  of  fifty  millions  of  acres,  certainly 
a  munificent  donation.  The  average  annual  income 
from  the  sale  of  public  lands  for  the  last  twenty  years  is 
about  five  millions  of  dollars.  Assuming  this  ratio,  the 
annual  grant  in  money  to  these  nine  States  is  more 
than  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars.  It  is  equal  to  the 
civil  lists  of  those  States.  It  is  the  assumption  of  the 
public  debts  of  those  States.  It  is  the  distribution  of 
the  whole  nett  proceeds  of  the  public  lands  amongst 
nine  States. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  mode  of  calculation  by  which 
the  mover  of  this  amendment  brings  down  the  value  oi 
the  public  lands  is  erroneous ;  but,  whatever  that  value 
may  be,  we  have  no  power  to  cast  it  away.  One  thing 
is  certain,  that  the  sales  yield  an  income  of  five  millions, 
and  that,  in  all  human  probability,  they  will  continue  to 
do  so  for  the  next  thirty  years.  Their  value  for  a  sum 
in  hand,  therefore,  is  correctly  estimated  by  a  very  ob- 
vious process.  The  annual  receipts  should  cover  the 
annual  interest,  and  provide  a  sinking  fund  for  the  capi- 
tal. By  this  mode  of  calculation,  then,  allowing  the  in- 
come from  the  public  lands  to  terminate  at  the  end  of 
thirty  years,  the  present  value  in  hand  would  be 
upwards  of  fifty  millions ;  and  the  proposition  thus  re- 
duced results  in  a  donation,  in  presenti,  of  seventeen 
millions  of  dollars  to  the  nine  States.  The  eagerness 
manifested  by  the  Senators  representing  those  States  is 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  36T 

natural.  There  is  a  grandeur  in  this  munificence  which 
subdues  the  imagination,  and  casts  into  shade  the  vast 
donation  of  Virginia — differing  from  that,  too,  in  this  : 
that,  whereas  Virginia  gave  to  all  the  States,  herself  in- 
cluded, this  proposition  gives  to  one-third  of  the  States, 
containing  less  than  one-sixth  of  the  population. 

"  That  the  average  of  the  last  twenty  years  is  a  just, 
or  at  least  a  sufficiently  low,  criterion  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  public  lands  for  the  future,  will  be  apparent  from  the 
consideration  of  the  great  increase  of  the  population, 
which  furnishes  the  demand  for  new  lands.  The  Uni- 
ted States  now  contain  18,000,000  of  inhabitants,  an 'in- 
crease at  the  rate  of  about  700,000  a  year.  The  de- 
mand for  new  settlements  will  increase  in  a  correspond- 
ing ratio  with  the  population.  It  may  be  safely  put 
down  as- increasing  at  the  rate  of  four  per  cent.  Expe- 
rience, heretofore,  has  shown  that  the  rate  of  purchase 
does  not  diminish,  as  the  land  has  been  picked  and 
culled;  but  on  the  contrary,  those  lands  which  have 
been  longest  in  market  are  most  freely  sold,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  quantity  in  market.  Thus,  lands  are 
more  rapidly  taken  up  in  Ohio,  than  in  Arkansas,  for  the 
obvious  reason  that  a  dense  population  makes  inferior 
land  more  valuable  in  the  midst  of  it,  than  more  fertile 
districts  in  an  uninhabited  country.  There  is  but  a 
million  of  acres  of  United  States  land  now  remaining 
unsold  in  Ohio,  and  even  this  is  diminishing  with  an  ac- 
celerated ratio.  It  therefore  may  be  well  assumed  that 
from  this  source  the  United  States  may  enjoy  a  revenue 
of  five  millions,  until  very  much  the  largest  portion  of 
the  domain  within  the  nine  States  is  disposed  of,  and 


368  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

long  before  that  period  Florida,  Iowa,  and  Wisconsin  will 
•  have  brought  their  contributions  to  the  general  fund, 
and  extended  ^jie  period  .^f^this,  income  to  future  gene- 
rations.    R^asoningj»pon  data  known  to  be  correct,  in 
^  thirty  years  from  this  .time  the  demand  for<the  public 
tends  will'be  in  proportion,  to  a  population  increasing 
at  the  rate  of  two,  millions-g,  year.   .;  «'        -:'v 
.     *':But  lijere  aYe  otffer  ^erious  objectiohs-to^this  amend- 
mentj  and  I  invoke  the.  attention  of  Senators  from  every 
quarter.  &£  the*  Uniowto  that,  ^hich  I  a^n  nc^w  about-  to 
,..  $t$,teV  ;;T^ei;pjpROsed  mo.de  *of  disposing  of  the  public 
lauAs^s  altogether,  and  to.  .  an  enognaoul  extent,,  unequal 
in  it$  operation.     What  I  msfst  on,  is,  that  there  shall 
be  a.t  any  rate,  a^perfect  equality  ;  that  there  shall  not  be 
on"  and  bounties  in  faaror  of  one  Slate  and 


.against  another;  'but  here  there  is1  a  degfee  6/  jneqdality 
x  \v^re  there  no  other  objections,  would  be  suffi«- 


rffcnt  to  corApel  my  decided  dissent,  li  ie  proposed  to 
•cc-d^he  public  dohiain  to  eeych  of  the,States  respectively, 
within  v  whose*  territorial  limits  they  lie.  It  is^iveii  to 
{the  States,  not  to  individuals.  It  js.  given  to  them,  not 
'%*  '  tfting  <z?/Vthe  States,  but  as  -being  part  only  of  the. 
States  of  the^  Union.  SljoufcTit  bfe  ceded.  to  all  the 
^States,  it  >yould  be  a  violation  of  the  original  cession,' 
•jand/of  the  Constitution,  as  the  advocates  of  this  measure 
Contend  It  is  to  be  ceded  to  the  States,  not  in  propor- 
tfpti  to.  tneir  contriWition^  1o  the  public  burdens,  or  in 
"pi$>porti'on  1p  th»ir  size  Of  population,  but.'simply  as 
^Stales.  .  And'what  will  be  the  result,  as  between  one  of 
*lhe  'States  and  another  ?  Ohio  exceeds  Missouri  in  pop- 
ulation four  to  one;  and  how  does  this  amendment  pro- 


WILLIAM     :.    PRESTON.  369 

pose  to  distribute  the  public  lands  between  these  two 
States  ?  The  share  of  Missouri  is  to  the  share  of  Ohio 
as  more  than  twenty-eight  to  one,  making  the  popula- 
tion of  Missouri  receive  over  the  population  of  Ohio 
more  than  one  hundred  to  one.  Can  Ohio  stand  by  and 
see  the  public  domain  given  away  in  this  proportion  ? 
Nor  is  this  all ;  for  the  one  million  of  acres  which  Ohio 
gets,  is  of  lands  which  have  been  in  market  for  more 
than  forty  years,  and  have  been  picked  and  culled  during 
all  that  time,  while  the  thirty  millions  which  are  given  to 
Missouri  consist  of  fresh  and  fertile  lands  but  recently 
surveyed.  Now  let  me  ask,  what  will  Virginia  get? 
She  contributes  to  the  public  burdens  six  times  as  much 
as  Missouri.  Missouri  is  to  get  thirty-five  per  cent,  of 
thirty  millions.  How  much  does  Virginia  get  ?  No- 
thing !  This  is  not  thirty  millions  to  one  ;  it  is  thirty 
millions  to  nothing.  Besides,  Ohio  has  now  passed  her 
chrysalis  condition.  She  has  now  become  one  of  the 
old  States  of  the  Union.  A  million  of  acres  is  nothing 
to  her.  But  this  amendment  gives  her  her  dividend 
but  of  one  million  of  old  and  refuse  land,  while  it  gives 
Missouri  her  dividend  of  thirty  millions  of  new  land  of 
the  very  best  quality. 

"  Let  us  now  look  a  little  at  the  operation  of  this  scheme 
in  its  details.  I  have  here  the  report  of  the  learned  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Lands,  made  at  the  last  session,  stating 
the  quantity  of  public  lands  within  the  various  States. 
Ohio,  it  appears,  contains  one  million  of  acres  of  sec- 
ond, third,  and  fourth-rate  lands,  while  Arkansas  has 
forty-three  millions  of  acres. 

[Mr.  Sevier,  across — Yes,  and  it  is  rich]. 
16* 


370  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

"  Yes,  Arkansas  is  rich ;  and  this  is  one  of  the  schemes 
to  make  the  rich  richer,  and  the  poor  poorer.  Arkansas 
has  forty-three  times  as  much  of  the  public  land  as  Ohio  ; 
at  the  same  time  Ohio  has  a  million  and  a  half  of  inhab- 
itants, while  Arkansas  has  one  hundred  thousand.  Thus, 
one  hundred  thousand  people  are  to  be  benefited  at  the 
rate  of  forty-three  millions  of  acres  of  land — rich  land, 
as  the  Senator  tells  us — while  a  million  and  a  half  of 
people  in  another  State  "are  benefitted  at  the  rate  of  one 
million  of  refuse  land.  Arkansas  is  to  get  two  hundred 
and  fifteen  acres  to  each  inhabitant,  and  Ohio  one-third 
of  one  acre !  being  a  difference  of  six  hundred  and 
forty-five  in  favor  of  Arkansas.  Each  inhabitant  of 
Arkansas,  therefore,  will  get  six  hundred  and  forty-five 
times  as  much  as  each  inhabitant  of  Ohio.  And  so  of 
the  rest.  Michigan  has  thirty-one  millions  of  acres  to 
Ohio's  one  million.  Yet  she  has  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  proportions  are  enormous. 
The  original  cession  said  that  the  avails  of  the  public 
domain  were  to  be  shared  among  the  States  according 
to  their  several  portions  of  the  general  charge  and  ex- 
penditure. Yet,  here  an  inhabitant  of  Arkansas  is  to 
get  six  hundred  and  forty-five  times  as  much  as  an 
inhabitant  of  Ohio ;  or,  if  you  regard  the  two  as  States, 
one  gets  forty-three  times  as  much  as  the  other. 

But  it  does  not  stop  here.  New  States  of  the  Union 
are  selected  as  beneficiaries :  are  they,  then,  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  avails  of  the  land  they  receive  ?  Not  at 
all  :  after  receiving  that,  they  are  then  to  come  in  and 
be  common  sharers  with  the  rest  of  the  States.  We  are 
to  give  them  all  their  own  lands,  and  a  portion  in  ours 


WILLIAM    C.    PttESTON.  371 

besides!  Virginia  is  to  get  one  twenty-sixth  part  of 
one-half  of  these  lands,  and  Arkansas,  after  having  got 
her  own  thirty-one  millions,  is  to  share  this  one  twenty- 
sixth  part  with  Virginia.  I  should  really  hope,  if  the 
land  must  be  given  away,  it  will  be  at  some  rate  more 
reasonable  than  this.  The  entire  quantity  of  lands 
remaining  unsold  within  the  States  enumerated  in  the 
Senator's  amendment  is  154,000,000  acres  :  one-half  of 
this  will  be  77,000,000,  one-third  is  50,000,000.  And 
the  bill  gives  these  50,000,000  to  nine  States,  the  other 
States  to  get  no  portion  of  it. 

"  I  could  run  out  this  illustration  yet  further :  but  I 
refrain.  Ex  pede,  Herculem.  These  are  sufficient. — 
These  are  to  me  striking  views,  but  they  are  not  the 
considerations  which  weigh  most  heavily  upon  my 
mind,  and  which  I  should  be  most  glad  to  see  removed 
if  this  amendment  is  to  be  adopted,  and  is  ever  to  be- 
come a  law.  In  arguing  this  whole  question  I  feel  the 
difficulty  of  our  situation  as  arguing  against  the  wishes 
and  expectations  of  those  who  are  to  receive  the  benefit. 
The  nine  States  who  are  to  get  this  magnificent  dona- 
tion have  eighteen  Senators  among  those  whom  I  am 
addressing,  who  have,  of  course,  a  more  direct  interest 
in  the  adoption  of  the  amendment  than  any  of  the  rest 
of  us.  This,  of  itself,  presents  a  powerful  motive  to 
secure  their  support  to  the  measure  :  and  this  fact  alone 
ought  to  make  us  pause  before  we  hastily  adopt  the 
plan.  The  benefit  to  be  granted  is  not  common  to  us 
all,  but  peculiar  to  them — it  is  exclusive  as  to  us.  They 
are  to  be  benefited :  we  are  to  be  injured.  In  alluding 
to  the  strength  of  the  motive  here  presented  as  likely  to 


372  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

band  together  eighteen  Senators  in  support  of  this 
scheme,  I  mean  to  make  no  personal  or  offensive  refer- 
ence to  those  Senators  :  it  is  a  motive  likely  to  act  on 
all  men  placed  in  their  circumstances.  They  desire, 
very  naturally,  and  very  properly,  to  benefit  their  con- 
stituents ;  and,  under  the  pressure  of  that  desire,  with 
such  an  opportunity  for  its  gratification,  the  understand- 
ing even  of  the  strongest  is  very  likely  to  be  warped  in 
its  conclusions, -and  seduced  to  believe  that  the  measure 
is  perfectly  just  and  proper.  We  must  entreat  gentle- 
men so  situated,  as  I  do  now  entreat  them,  to  raise  their 
views  from  the  immediate  interest  of  their  constituents, 
in  such  a  cession  as  is  now  proposed,  to  a  just  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacred  trust  which  has  been  confided  to 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  Union.  Is  it  right — is 
it  just — is  it  generous — to  find  their  own  peculiar 
interest  in  our  loss  and  sacrifice  ?  I  throw  myself  upon 
them,  that  they  will  consider  this  subject  in  an  enlarged 
point  of  view.  Especially  do  I  wish  Ohio  to  do  this, 
who  is  passing  out  of  her  state  of  minority  and  becom- 
ing of  ripe  age.  Will  Ohio  consent  thus  to  squander  our 
common  patrimony  ?  I  put  it  to  Indiana,  who  is  soon 
about  to  become  the  third  State  in  this  Union  :  and  I 
ask  her  whether,  to  promote  a  transient  interest  to-day, 
she  will  be  willing  to  sacrifice  the  permanent  and 
abiding  interest  of  to-morrow?  and  whether  she  will 
lend  herself  to  the  delusion  that  it  is  just  to  deprive  the 
old  States  of  the  inheritance  they  have  received  from 
our  ancestors  ? 

"The  amendment  will  produce  a  state  of  things  1 
earnestly  deprecate.     In  the  administration  of  this  <*n- 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  373 

main  something  is  due  to  our  past  experience.  We  all 
remember  the  large  amount  of  debt  which  was  once  ac- 
cumulated under  the  credit  system  of  sale  of  the  public 
lands  ;  you  remember  that  the  debtors  declared  that  they 
could  not  pay,  and  would  not.  The  very  same  spirit 
which  prompts  men  to  take  the  land  without  a  legal 
right  prompts  them  to  stand  out  for  the  money  they 
ought  to  pay  for  it.  Circumstances  made  it  difficult, 
perhaps  impossible,  for  them  to  pay  ;  and  I  well  recollect 
the  terror  with  which  the  politicians  of  that  day  looked 
to  the  results  of  such  a  state  of  things.  I  remember  with 
what  anxiety,  not  to  say  terror,  Mr.  Monroe  con- 
templated a  debt  of  nineteen  millions  owed  by  one  sec- 
tion of  the  Union.  Congress  looked  with  dismay  at  the 
mass  of  debt  due  from  settlers  on  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi ;  and  in  contemplation  of  the  mischievous  effects 
arising  from  the  credit  system,  in  relation  to  the  public 
lands,  you  determined  to  alter  your  terms  of  sale ;  and 
it  was  wisely  decided  to  sell,  in  future,  for  cash  alone. 
But  if  a  scattered  debt,  due  from  individuals,  be  an  evil 
of  so  dangerous  a  character  as  to  excite  their  terrors, 
how  fearful  will  it  become  when  this  debt,  instead  of  be- 
ing dispersed  among  a  number  of  individual  settlers,  is 
consolidated  inta  one  mass,  and  owed  by  a  section  which 
has  already,  from  time  to  time,  made  claim  to  an  inde- 
feasible title  in  all  this  land !  Can  you  collect  it  ?  You 
cannot  drive  your  debtors  from  the  land.  Will  you  call 
out  the  force  of  the  country — send  your  army — sell 
the  land  under  them,  and  take  possession  of  it  for  the 
United  States  ?  It  cannot  be  done.  To  individuals,  in 
such  a  case,  you  can  afford  to  yield,  and  make  a  com 


374  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

promise  ;  but  how  will  you  stand  when  you  have  made 
States  your  debtors  ?  The  amendment  establishes  the 
relation  of  debtor  and  creditor  between  this  Government 
and  entire  States — with  neighboring,  with  contiguous 
States — with  a  mass  of  States,  all  having  one  common 
interest  in  the  question,  one  common  character,  and  one 
common  debt.  Do  you  expect  from  a  debtor  like  this 
to  collect  your  debt  by  any  process  ?  The  thought  is 
idle.  I  estimate  the  honor  and  fidelity  of  the  States 
as  much  as  any  man  ;  but  what  have  we  heard  for  the 
last  few  years,  from  the  other  side  of  the  Senate,  but 
wild  denunciations  of  State  extravagance — State  profli- 
gacy— and  the  dear,  blessed  people  to  be  taxed  to  pay 
State  debts  ?  Suppose  there  comes  a  short  crop,  or  an 
Indian  war,  or  any  other  of  the  like  contingencies,  would 
it  not  be  urged  as  an  excuse  for  not  paying  the  State 
debt?  And  would  you  venture,  under  such  circum- 
stances, to  call  upon  them  for  your  money  ?  You  dare 
not.  Gentlemen  have  told  you,  in  one  breath,  that  you 
cannot  protect  your  land  from  the  squatters  either  by 
your  tipstaves  or  by  soldiers  ;  and  in  the  very  next  breath 
they  say  you  can  force  whole  States  to  comply  with 
their  contracts  by  the  power  of  the  judiciary  !  Your 
army  cannot  remove  a  handful  of  individuals,  and  yet  you 
are  going  to  drive  the  States  by  your  judiciary  !  You 
cannot  turn  off  a  poor  squatter,  who  has  no  sort  of  title, 
or  evidence  or  pretence  of  title  ;  and  yet  you  are,  by  the 
most  nugatory  provisions  of  this  bill,  to  oust  a  citizen  of 
a  State,  having  a  deed  from  the  State  in  his  pocket,  and 
the  whole  State  power  interposed  between  him  and  you ! 
If  a  State  shall  declare  that  they  will  not  pay  you,  do 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  375 

you  expect  that  individuals  of  that  State  will  ?  God 
forbid  that  1  should  ever  see  the  day  when  this  comes  to 
be  tried,  or  that  I  should  contribute  to  the  possibility  of 
superinducing  it.  You  place  the  man  between  two 
fires.  The  State  tells  him  to  hold  his  land  ;  the  General 
Government  orders  him  to  give  it  up.  He  is  to  be  hung 
by  the  State  if  he  disobeys  the  State  Government ;  and 
if  he  obeys  the  State,  then  he  is  to  be  hung  by  the 
General  Government !  You  never  can  enforce  your 
contract;  the  judiciary  is  utterly  incapable  of  it.  The 
remedy  which  the  amendment  provides  for  the  case  is 
utterly  inefficient.  It  is,  that,  if  the  States  refuse  to  pay, 
then  the  deeds  made  by  the  States  to  individuals  shall 
be  vacated.  Pshaw!  Why,  as  I  have  said,  with  no 
deed  at  all,  the  settlers  have  stood  out  against  you,  and 
you  have  been  forced  to  yield,  over  and  over  again  ; 
think  you  that,  with  a  State  deed  to  show,  and  the  State 
authority  to  shield  them,  they  are  going  to  march  offtheir 
farms  at  the  bidding  of  your  marshall  ?  He  would  be  a 
bold  man  who  would  carry  a  process  there.  I  say,  then, 
that  there  is  great  danger  in  your  establishing  the  pecu- 
niary relation  of  debtor  and  creditor  with  the  States.  If 
they  cannot  pay,  what  will  you  do  ?  They  will  resist 
in  masses.  They  have  eighteen  Senators  on  this  floor  ; 
and  it  is  already  their  boast  that  in  ten  years  from  this 
time  they  will  hold  the  balance  of  power,  and  that  they 
will  take  the  land  upon  their  own  terms.  The  remedy 
proposed  by  the  amendment  is  altogether  fallacious.  It 
proposes  to  divert  a  vested  right,  and  to  drive  a  man 
from  lands  that  he  has  bought  and  paid  for." 

One  of  the  very  latest  and  most  finished  productions 


*  yE&x 

376  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

given  to  the  public  by  Mr.  Preston,  was  the  eulogy  he 
pronounced  upon  his  early  associate,  literary  rival,  and 
political  friend,  Hugh  S.  Legare.  The  following  brief 
extract,  it  is  believed,  applies  to  the  eulogist  as  well  as  to 
his  friend : 

"  He  mainly  devoted  himself  to  the  departments  of 
classical  literature  and  philosophy  ;  and  he  zealously  en- 
gaged in  the  discussions  of  the  debating  societies,  to 
practice  himself  in  the  art  of  speaking.  These  studies 
were  a  passion  with  him.  His  attention  to  the  exact 
sciences,  however,  seemed  to  be  stimulated  rather  by 
an  ambition  of  excellence  and  a  sense  of  duty.  His  re- 
citations in  mathematics,  chemistry,  and  natural  philo- 
sophy were  always  good — equal  to  the  best  in  his  class- 
but  his  heart  was  in  the  classics.  There  he  was  not 
only  learning,  but  feasting.  He  was  not  only  making 
stages  on  a  journey,  butJured  on  from  height  to  height, 
enraptured  with  the  glowing  scene,  until  all  the  glorious 
creations  of  Greek  and  Roman  genius  lay  like  a  land- 
scape beneath  him." 

Further  on,  he  describes  the  career  prosecuted  by  Mr. 
Legare  after  he  left  college  : 

"He  did  not  fall  into  the  fatal  error  of  supposing 
that  the  college  course  completed  his  education,  or  that 
the  distinction  acquired  by  it  entitled  him  to  repose  or 
indolence.  He  had  learned  enough — no  inconsiderable 
knowledge — to  know  his  ignorance,  and  did  not  believe 
that  he  had  even  laid  a  foundation,  but  had  merely  been 
collecting  materials  for  an  education.  He  left  the  col- 
lege, therefore,  for  the  deeper  seclusion  of  his  own  libra- 
ry, and  entering  on  the  study  of  law,  rather  added  to 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  377 

than  changed  his  former  labors.     The  study  of  his  pro- 
fession was  the  base  line  of  very  multifarious  reading, 
and  was  in  the  beginning,  and  for  many  years  after-* 
wards,  regarded  as  subsidiary  to  other  objects  requiring 
also  other  attainments." 

Having  mentioned  the  fact  that  his  lamented  friend 
went  to  Paris  in  1818,  Mr.  Preston  proceeds  to  describe 
his  occupations  there,  and  the  facilities  he  found  for 
cultivating  his  most  genial  tastes  : 

"The  most  attractive  objects  to  him,  were  the  galle- 
ries of  fine  arts  and  the  theatres.  The  former,  some- 
what shorn  of  their  beams,  in  1818,  were  yet  glorious 
with  the  rich,  though  diminished  spoils  of  Italy  and  Hol- 
land. His  cultivated  imagination  found  the  counterparts 
of  its  images  on  the  canvas  or  in  marble :  and  while  they 
filled  him  with  delight,  furnished  him  with  more  exalted, 
and  at  the  same  time  with  more  definite,  conceptions  of 
grace,  beauty,  and  sublimity.  The  theatres  were  then 
in  the  highest  state  of  perfection,  and  Mr.  Legare,  being 
well  acquainted  with  the  French  drama  as  a  literature 
studied  and  enjoyed  its  representations  on  the  stage 
with  intense  delight.  Talma  and  Duchenois  had 
brought  tragic  acting  to  perfection,  and  Mars  was  inimi- 
table in  polite  comedy.  To  Mr.  Legare,  their  represent- 
ations was  not  only  amusement,  but  a  study.  The  thea- 
tre was.  to  him  what  it  was  when  Bolingbroke  ap- 
plauded a  play  of  Addison,  or  Johnson  the  acting  of 
Garrick." 

These  quotations  are  not  only  good'  specimens  of 
Mr.  Preston's  narrative  style,  but,  the  last  one  in  par- 
ticular they  are  very  significant  of  the  author's  own 


378  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

mental  predilections  and  most  genial  habitudes.  He, 
too,  was  an  early  proficient  and  ardent  votary  in  the 
•classics,  sojourned  sometime  in  Europe,  everywhere 
cultivated  literary  enthusiasm,  studied  all  the  elegant 
arts  with  fervid  zeal,  and  was  a  passionate  admirer  of 
the  drama.  He  has  just  told  us  about  his  friend's  fond- 
ness for  tragedy ;  and  what  he  immediately  adds 
thereto  looks  even  more  like  a  description  of  his  own 
temperament  and  taste  than  those  of  Legare.  Of  the 
latter  he  says :  "  It  was,  however,  illustrative  of  a 
trait  in  his  character,  that  he  frequently  sought  and 
enjoyed  the  rich  farce  of  Potier,  or  the  naivete  and 
idiomatic  finesse  of  the  vaudeville — for  although  his 
general  demeanor  was  grave,  and  sometimes  even  aus- 
tere, yet  there  was  a  vein  of  fun  running  through  his 
character ;  with  a  keen  perception  of  the  ludicrous, 
which  not  unfrequently  manifested  itself  in  the  presence 
of  his  intimate  friends.  At  such  moments  his  joyous- 
ness,  his  entire  abandon,  and  the  rich  play  of  a  riotous 
imagination  over  the  vast  field  of  his  varied  associa- 
tions, afforded  an  amusing  and  not  unpleasing  contrast 
with  his  habitual  reserve." 

There  is  a  graceful,  negligent,  though  animated,  air 
about  Mr.  Preston's  mode  of  public  address  which  is 
exceedingly  captivating.  His  language  "thrills  in  each 
nerve,  and  lives  along  the  line,"  with  pre-eminent  beauty 
and  force.  There  is  an  exuberance  of  thought  and 
imagery  throughout  his  productions,  and  a  copious  ex- 
penditure of  both,  which  seems  as  fearless  of  exhaus- 
tion, as  it  is  prolific  of  delight.  The  reader  in  a  good 
degree,  and  the  hearer  much  more,  feels  that  either  him- 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  379 

self  or  the  magician  before  him  had  "eaten  of  the 
insane  root  that  takes  the  reason  prisoner,"  such  strange 
elevations  of  spirit  are  produced,  alternately  glowing 
and  shivering  through  the  bosom.  This  result  is  pro- 
duced in  a  great  degree  by  the  extraordinary  dramatic 
power  in  this  orator.  Deep  emotion,  pervading  the 
whole  form  of  an  impassioned  speaker,  and  investing  him 
as  with  preternatural  light,  often  has  the  most  strikingly 
beautifying  effect.  Thus  Baron  de  Grimm  says  of  the 
great  French  actor  Le  Kain,  that,  off  the  stage,  he  was 
more  than  usually  ugly,  with  coarse,  unpleasing  fea- 
tures, a  heavy,  unwieldy  form,  a  hoarse  and  disagree- 
able voice,  and  manners  entirely  destitute  of  elegance. 
But  on  the  stage,  and  really  excited,  so  as  to  be  wholly 
absorbed  in  his  part,  he  was  indeed  a  hero,  a  king,  with 
features  the  most  noble,  or  the  most  touching,  a  mein 
the  most  imposing  and  the  most  graceful,  a  voice  the 
most  tenderly  pathetic,  and  that  rare  combination  of 
irresistible  perfections,  which  often  drew  from  women 
who  were  convinced  of  his  ugliness,  involuntary  excla- 
mations upon  his  beauty.  Witness  the  Marquise  de 
Pompadour,  who,  an  hour  after  she  found  him  frightful 
in  a  gallery  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles,  exclaimed,  on 
seeing  him  appear  upon  the  stage  under  the  turban  of 
Orasman  :  "Great  God!  how  handsome  this  man  is! 
how  sublime!  how  admirable !" 

But  this  kind  of  effect  was  produced,,  as  is  always  the 
case,  by  real  feeling,  and  not  by  mere  mouthing  or 
mawkish  affectation.  La  Harpe  testifies  that  "  the  play 
of  Le  Kain's  features  was  not  owing  merely  to  the 
action  of  his  muscles ;  it  arose  from  the  agitation  of  a 


380  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

soul  moved  to  its  very  depths,  yet  revealing  but  a  part 
of  its  torture,  repressing  far  more  than  it  displayed  on 
the  surface.  His  cries  and  his  tears  were  the  result  of 
real  sufferings  ;  the  gloomy,  fearful  fire  of  his  glances,  the 
stamp  of  grandeur  impressed  upon  his  brow,  the  fright- 
ful contraction  of  his  muscles,  the  tremor  of  his  lips, 
and  the  wild  disorder  of  his  features,  all  testified  to  a 
heart  full  to  overflowing — a  heart  impatient  of  restraint 
— impatient  to  pour  forth  its  griefs,  which,  when  re- 
vealed, found  no  relief.  We  heard  the  echo  of  the 
inward  storm,  and  we  felt  that  the  unhappy  man,  like 
the  ancient  priestess,  was  crushed  by  the  divinity 
which  had  descended  upon  his  bosom.  It  is  necessary, 
therefore,  to  have  seen  the  effect  that  he  produced,  in 
order  t6  imagine  it  and  to  credit  it.  One  could  never 
conceive  that  profound  terror,  that  appalling  sHence, 
interrupted  at  times  by  the  accents  of  grief,  which  re- 
sponded to  those  of  the  actor,  by  the  sobs  which  testi- 
fied to  the  agitation  of  every  heart,  by  the  tears  which 
had  need  to  flow,  to  relieve  the  suffocated  bosom. 
What  a  moment !  What  a  spectacle  !  From  the  weep- 
ing that  was  heard  on  every  side  of  the  house,  from 
the  multiplied  signs  of  general  desolation,  one  would 
have  thought  that  he  beheld  a  people  who  had  just 
been  smitten  with  some  great  calamity." 

To  be  coarse  is  a  vulgar  error ;  but  to  be  mono- 
tonous, is  a  no  less  fatal  fault.  Everything  strongly 
marked  in  eloquent  speech,  good  or  bad,  is  the  sponta- 
neous product  of  its  author — his  genius,  his  energy,  his 
character.  Those  who  are  the  most  elaborately  uni- 
/brm  are  far  from  being  the  most  effective.  It  is  those 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  381 

that  strue  by  their  natural  inequalities,  their  character- 
istic individuality,  and  whose  faults  and  excellencies 
keep  up  perpetual  expectation,  who  produce  the  greatest 
influence.  The  speaking  of  some  men  appears  to  be 
faultless,  and  this  is  all  that  is  ever  said  about  them. 
They  are  never  approved  or  condemned  earnestly,  be- 
cause in  character  they  are  intrinsically  tame.  But 
other  men  agitate  and  almost  convulse  the  public  mind 
by  contrary  extremes  ;  and  these,  because  they  are  full 
of  character,  produce  much  fierce  discussion  as  to  their 
merits,  while  by  all  parties  they  continue  to  be  listened 
to  with  delight.  It  has  been  questioned  whether  Ra- 
phael would  have  acquired  so  great  a  name,  if  his 
coloring  had  been  equal  to  his  drawing  or  expression. 
As  it  is,  "  his  figures  stand  out  like  a  rock,  severed  from 
its  base  :  while  Correggio's  are  lost  in  their  own  beauty 
and  sweetness."  Whatever  has  not  a  mixture  of  strong 
contrasts,  amounting  often  to  manifest  imperfection,  in 
it,  soon  grows  insipid,  or  seems  "stupidly  good." 

It  is  impossible  to  hide  nature  in  artificial  robes,  and 
thus  manufacture  a  lay  figure  which  will  command 
the  sympathy  and  raptures  of  mankind.  The  great 
desideratum  is,  to  impress  character  on  whatever  one 
attempts  in  speech.  It  is  not  coldly  to  recite  sen- 
timent, but  earnestly  to  act  it.  He  who  can  best  do 
this,  exemplifies  most  agreeably  an  intellectual  style. 
Listening  to  them  we  are  carried  along  so  delightfully 
with  the  deep  and  powerful  current  of  their  naturalness, 
that,  like  Partridge  in  Tom  Jones,  when  he  saw  Gar- 
rick  personate  Hamlet,  all  seems  so  spontaneous,  so 
completely  without  effort,  that  we  feel  sure,  there  is 


382  LrVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

neither  artifice  nor  mystery,  extraordinary  power  nor 
genius,  in  the  whole  matter.  The  elder  Kean  was 
mighty,  because  he  was  his  own  great  original,  with  aii 
his  errors  and  excellencies — "  not  the  copyist  of  any 
other — not  the  pupil  of  a  school — not  a  mannerist,  but 
an  actor  who  found  all  his  resources  in  nature,  who 
delineated  his  passions'  only  from  the  expression  that 
the  soul  gives  to  the  voice  and  features  of  man — not 
from  the  images  that  have  before  him  been  represented 
on  the  stage.  It  is  from  the  wonderful  truth,  energy, 
and  force  with  which  he  strikes  out,  and  presents  to  the 
eye  this  natural  working  of  the  passions  of  the  human 
frame,  that  he  excites  the  emotions,  and  engages  the 
sympathy  of  his  spectators  and  auditors." 

To  those  who  know  Mr.  Preston,  are  familiar  with 
his  mental  tastes,  style  of  thought,  and  manner  of  ex- 
pression, the  propriety  of  these  dramatic  allusions  will 
be  seen  at  once.  Not  that  our  accomplished  and  elo- 
quent countryman  is  a  mere  mannerist  in  any  sense. 
We  have  adduced  copious  proofs  of  his  admirable  ver- 
satility in  composition,  and  all  the  world  knows  that  he 
can  most  skillfully  adapt  his  elocution  to  every  form  and 
shade  of  thought.  The  Tatler  says  there  was  a  man  in 
his  day  who  could  play  nothing  but  the  Apothecary  in 
Romeo  and  Juliet.  He  succeeded  so  well  in  this,  that 
he  grew  fat  upon  it,  when  he  was  set  aside  ;  and  having 
then  nothing  to  do,  pined  away  till  he  became  qualified 
for  his  part  again,  and  had  another  run  in  it.  But  Mr. 
Preston  is  not  thus  dependent  upon  any  one  occupation 
or  style.  Whenever  he  is  roused,  on  whatever  theme 
01-  occasion,  there  is  a  gre*at  deal  of  stage  effect  in  his 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  883 

figure,  voice,  and  general  bearing,  but  it  seems  little  in- 
debted to  study.  He  was  unmistakably  created  to  pro- 
duce great  oratorical  effects.  His  claim  to  admiration  is 
in  his  boiling  blood  and  flashing  brain — the  generous 
ardor  of  his  temperament,  and  his  brilliant  mental 
power.  He  is  undoubtedly  the  Roscius  of  the  Ameri 
can  forum,  but  he  is  equally  great  in  many  othei 
spheres.  He  is  by  nature  and  habit  gorgeously  armed 
with  the  splendid  excellence  of  passionate  vigor ;  but  he 
is  none  the  less  potent  and  attractive  in  the  quiet  shades 
of  literary  research  and  domestic  joy. 

We  have  presented  a  variety  of  written  samples, 
showing  the  diversified  features  of  Mr.  Preston's  mind 
as  a  cultivated  statesman  ;  and  have  stated  what  we 
believe  to  be  his  predominant  quality  of  temperament 
and  general  style.  It  remains  now  definitely  to  portray 
the  characteristics  of  his  extraordinary  eloquence. 

We  have  said  that  his  manner  is  highly  dramatic  ;  and 
this  is  true,  because  it  habitually  embodies  and  exempli- 
fies deep  human  devotion  by  feature,  form,  and  action. 
In  the  first  place,  the  expression,  physical  and  mental,  as 
exhibited  by  Mr.  Preston,  is  remarkable.  Some  orators, 
like  Rembrandt,  possess  the  full  empire  of  light  and 
shade,  and  of  all  the  tints  that  float  between  them ;  they 
can  tinge  their  pencil  with  equal  success  in  the  cool  of 
dawn,  in  the  noon-day  ray,  in  the  livid  flash,  in  evanes- 
cent twilight,  and  render  darkness  visible,  if  they  like. 
Such  masters  are  men  inspired,  be  their  sphere  of  devel- 
opment and  creative  power  what  it  may.  To  them 
nature  discloses  all  the  varied  light  of  rising,  meridian, 
and  setting  suns.  Height,  depth,  solitude,  convulsion, 


384  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

strike,  terrify,  absorb,  or  bewilder  them  by  turns,  and 
under  the  action  of  these  diversified  views  and  emo- 
tions, they  cause  us  to  see  what  they  see,  feel  as  they 
feel,  and   traverse  mournfully  or  joyously  with   them 
through  classic,  romantic,  or  sacred  regions.     The  se- 
date, the  severe,  the  solemn,  the  gay,  the  pleasing,  the 
placid,  the  awful,  and  the  sublime,  are  depicted  by  turns ; 
each   touch    in    harmony  with    the    subject,   and    all 
invested  with  the  greatest  propriety  and  force.     Of  this 
stamp  is  William  C.  Preston.     He  can  speak  the  world's 
one  tongue,  in  tone,  feature,  and  action,  with  simulta- 
neous and  irresistible  effect — that  language  which,  when- 
ever and  wherever  it  is  truly  expressed,  always  "  trem- 
bles towards  the  inner  founts  of  feeling,"  and  produces 
the  most  pleasing  as  well  as  most  potent  results.    "With 
gleaming  plumes,  that  might  o'ercome  an  air  of  ada- 
mantine denseness,  pranked  with  fire,"  his  appearance 
before  an  audience  is  the  signal  for  universal  admira- 
tion and  profound  respect.  He  possesses  in  full  measure 
that  "winged  power"  which  Pindar  praises  in  Homer, 
and  which  whirls  incident  on  incident  with  such  rapid- 
ity, that,  absorbed  by  the  whole,  we  are  drawn  from  the 
imperfection  of  single  parts,  and  are  enthralled   as.  by 
the  fantasies  of  a  vision. 

This  orator  commands  within  his  own  bosom  the 
source  of  deep  pathos,  as  well  as  the  more  fiery  foun- 
tains of  passion  and  pungent  wit.  In  this  versatility 
lies  the  secret  of  his  greatest  powdr.  He  who  can  best 
delineate  the  suffering  side  of  human  nature  can  like- 
wise represent  the  gay  side  ;  because  he  who  can  attain 
the  greater  has  already  reached  the  less.  Mr.  Preston 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  385 

is  an  admirable  painter  of  the  florid  school ;  but,  perhaps, 
is  not  so   expert   in   severe   reasoning  and  analytical 
thought.     He  can  defend  any  favorite  system  with  the 
flowers  of  rhetoric  much  more  effectively  than  with  the 
inflexible  and  inodorous   weapons   of  syllogistic   form. 
Without  injustice,  it  is  believed,  we  may  apply  to  him  the 
critical  judgment  which  Broussais  pronounced  before  the 
Institute  of  France,  on  the  historian  Mignet,  wherein  he 
sums  up  the  character  of  that  extraordinary  man  as 
follows: — "His  mind,  which  was   quick,  penetrating, 
strong,  and  creative,  was  deficient  in  the  essential  of 
rigor ;  he  did  not  always  propound  his  problems  well,  and 
often   contented  himself  with  imperfect  solutions,  be- 
cause he  observed  shrewdly,  but  concluded  hastily.     To 
inquire  and  believe,  to  affirm  and  contend,  were  with 
him  necessities ;  he  knew  not  what  it  was  either  to  doubt 
or  to  hesitate.     Thence  arose  at  once  his  imperfections, 
his  talent,  his  power,  his  success ;  he  thence  derived  a 
style  beautifully  animated   and  free,  glowing,  copious, 
unequal,  vigorous ;  he  thence  drew  the  inspiration  of 
those  works  which   interested  not   only  as  the  expo- 
sition of  his  ideas,  but  as  the  echo  of  his  feelings,  for 
he  threw  into  them  both  his  views  and  himself."     Not 
that  our  gifted  countryman  is  incapable  of  severe  argu- 
ment, but  he  superabounds  in  other  qualities  which,  if 
they  are  less   rigid,  are  often  more  captivating.     He 
knows  himself,  and  can  make  his  audience  deliciously 
comprehend  the  poet's  meaning  when  he  exclaims — 

"  How  sweet  to  feel  the  sun  upon  the  heart ! 
To  know  it  is  lighting  up  the  rosy  blood, 
17 


386  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

And  with  all  joyous  feelings,  prison-hued, 
Making  the  dark  breast  shine  like  a  spar  grot." 

Again,  the  form  which  Mr.  Preston's  eloquence  in- 
stinctively assumes  is  as  remarkable  as  its  expression, 
and  contributes  much  to  its  peculiar  force.  As  has 
been  already  estimated,  his  style  is  beautiful,  graceful, 
exuberant,  and  sometimes  undefined.  When  one's 
fancy  borders  on  phrensy,  he  will  be  most  likely  to  de- 
spise the  drudgery  of  minute  detail.  His  reasoning  is 
less  composed  by  laborious  skill  than  grouped  by  in- 
stinctive emotion ;  this  teaches  him  at  once  to  grasp  his 
subject,  stamp  his  character,  and  arrange  its  costume. 
He  does  not,  like  Calhoun,  draw  from  the  resources  of 
matchless  dialectics ;  but  he  pours  forth  without  stint  the 
effusions  of  a  glowing  and  resolute  sensibility.  His 
speech,  "  looking  as  woven  in  a  loom  of  light,"  unlike 
the  frigid  and  opaque  products  of  pedantic  cloisters,  is 
lucid  to  the  eye  and  genial  to  the  heart.  For  this  rea- 
son is  he  heard  on  popular  occasions  with  much  more 
interest  than  are  those  who  are  colder  and  more  method- 
ized. He  has  read  enough  in  every  department  of 
science,  literature,  art,  and  morals,  to  be  habitually  in- 
structive, and  is  especially  distinguished  for  the  ability  to 
express  what  he  does  know  in  language  at  once  clear, 
fervid,  and  emphatic.  The  depth  of  his  emotion,  and 
the  violence  of  his  mental  action,  permeating  and  im- 
pelling his  physical  powers,  are  expressed  in  a  glowing 
eloquence,  well  calculated  to  enrapture  men,  and  win 
extended  popularity.  It  is  a  style  which  combines 
many  attractive  qualities.  The  mirror  of  feeling  and 
generosity,  it  is  the  translucent  organ  of .  imagination 


***'  r  • 

WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  387 

and  reason,  political  philosophy,  and  impassioned  poetry. 
Its  common  aim  and  chief  success  consists  in  the  deline- 
ation of  emotion ;  but  it  also  possesses  a  good  deal  of 
artistic  precision  atid  intellectual  force.  In  dealing  with 
familiar  topics,  he  often  gives  much  clearness,  regularity/ 
and  power  to  his  expressions.  Hence  it  is  that 

"  He  rules,  like  a  wizard,  the  world  of  the  heart, 
To  call  up  its  sunshine,  or  draw  down  its  showers." 

When  imagination  predominates  in  a  speaker,  we 
should  expect  to  find  in  him  much  contrast  and  display, 
apparently  artificial  exuberance,  and  melo  dramatic  com- 
binations. Mr.  Preston  sometimes  appears  to  strain  too 
much  after  effect ;  this,  however,  is  produced  more  by 
nature  than  affectation,  since  persons  of  his  stamp, 
more  than  they  themselves  are  usually  aware,  have  their 
reason  a  good  deal  enthralled  by  imagination  and  the 
passions.  The  native  warmth  of  our  orator  tinges  all 
his  words  in  the  higher  forms  of  speech,  "  like  gold-hued 
cloud-flakes  on  the  rosy  morn."  Instead  of  congealing 
his  eloquence  through  arbitrary  combinations,  he  imbues 
it  with  the  fire  of  a  soul  naturally  acute  and  invincibly 
free.  He  abounds  in  that  emotion  which  instantly  be- 
comes conviction  in  the  masses ;  and  is  persuasive, 
because  his  spirit,  sensitive  and  versatile,  bears  always 
in  its  accent  the  true  impression  of  the  moment,  and  the 
distinct  expression  of  his  actual  design.  In  his  gentler 
mood  and  ethereal  musing,  he  resembles, 

"  That  snow-like  fall  of  feeling  which  overspreads 
The  bosom  of  the  youthful  maiden's  mind, 
More  pure  and  fair  than  even  its  outward  type." 


388  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

That  is  the  most  powerful  speech  which  in  the  direct- 
est  manner  addresses  all  our  perceptions,  not  only  by 
arguments  which  we  are  bound  to  hear,  but  through 
that  higher  language  of  the  heart  to  which  it  is  bliss  to 
listen.  It  is  this  that  chains  the  feelings  and  the  imagina- 
tion, convinces  while  it  exhilarates,  and  holds  us  enthrall- 
ed for  a  season  in  spite  of  ourselves,  that  thereby  it  may 
more  effectually  exalt  our  conceptions  and  ennoble  their 
worth.  It  is  the  sentiments  of  a  discourse  that  should 
claim  our  chief  solicitude,  and  not  its  language  or  form, 
the  work  and  not  the  instrument,  as  "  'twas  not  by  words 
Apelles  charm'd  mankind."  Eloquence  is  a  central 
glory,  a  blazing  focus,  around  which  all  the  rays  of 
knowledge,  experience,  and  science,  all  the  ideal  as  well 
as  all  the  practical  of  our  nature,  arrange  themselves  in 
one  harmonious  whole  to  irradiate  and  adorn  every 
kingdom  of  mind. 

But  this  grand  principle  of  mental  unity  in  oratorical 
efforts  by  no  means  excludes  variety,  it  rather  impe- 
riously demands  it.  For  example,  of  all  writers  that 
ever  lived,  Homer,  in  his  epic,  impresses  one  particular 
idea — the  generic  one  of  war.  But  in  doing  this,  his 
heroes  and  heroines  are  delineated  by  the  most  con- 
trasted and  striking  individualities  of  character.  Aga- 
memnon and  Achilles,  Thersites  and  Ulysses,  Diomed 
and  Nestor,  Helen  and  Andromache,  are  most  widely 
different  in  tone,  form,  and  style.  The  efficient  ora- 
tor must  have  wisdom,  therefore,  and  if  it  is  imbued  with 
practical  flexibility,  he  cannot  have  too  much  of  it ; 
since  he  will  be  able  to  appreciate  and  produce  the  per- 
fect, only  so  far  as  he  is  qualified  to  discern  and  avoid 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  389 

the  defective.  Rhetorical  artificialness  is  an  appearance, 
but  eloquence  is  a  substance ;  the  former  bears  the  same 
relation  to  the  latter,  that  a  skeleton  does  to  a  living  man. 
Only  as  the  orator  penetrates  into  the  depths  of  his  own 
soul,  will  he  be  able  to  take  the  accurate  measure  and 
truthful  hues  of  appropriate  materials,  and  thus  give  to  his 
productions  an  import  and  symmetry  that  seem  at  once 
natural  and  supernatural.  He  appropriates  to  his  use 
whatever  in  the  universe  around  him  is  most  signifi- 
cant, pertinent,  and  interesting ;  and  having  constructed 
an  organic  whole  of  the  richest  matter  and  most  grace- 
ful form,  he  breathes  into  it  the  highest  value,  even  the 
breath  of  life.  To  aspire  constantly  after  the  truly  na- 
tural, is  to  soar  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  worth ;  but 
to  be  content  with  the  mere  appearance  of  naturalness 
is  to  sink  to  the  lowest  depth.  Not  only  must  there  be 
knowledge  founded  on  theory  and  matured  by  practice, 
a  mass  of  select  and  well-digested  materials,  perspicuity 
of  method  and  fluency  of  utterance,  but  there  must  also 
be  imagination  to  place  these  things  in  bold  and  brilliant 
points  of  view,  presence  of  mind,  conscious  vigor,  and 
daring  resolution.  Dry  reason  is  rendered  but  the  more 
repulsive  by  an  alliance  with  a  cloudy,  formless, .  and 
nerveless  fancy ;  but  vivid  and  creative  imagination  is 
an  auxiliary  of  the  greatest  beauty  and  use  :  the  first 
being  the  torpid  chrysalis,  the  latter  the  butterfly  set 
free  on  unwearied  wings  to  soar  in  flowery  fields,  on 
lofty  hills,  or  through  azure  heavens. 

"  Hence,  all-majestic  on  th'  expanding  soul, 
In  copious  tide,  the  bright  ideas  roll: 


390  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Fill  it  with  radiant  forms  unknown  before, 
Forms  such  as  demigods  and  heroes  wore." 

We  have  spoken  of  the  expressive  features  and  pecu- 
liar form  of  Mr.  Preston's  eloquence,  and  shall  conclude 
our  portraiture  of  him  by  a  notice  of  his  remarkable 
action. 

Says  an  English  writer,  "  There  are  two  aspects  in 
which  language  may  be  viewed  as  a  medium  of  com- 
municating admiration,  wisdom,  delight,  to  others  ; 
one  would  be  speech.  Then  how  astonishing  to  think 
that  you  can  stand  in  the  centre  of  a  mighty  congrega- 
tion of  learned  or  ignorant,  thoughtful  or  reckless  men 
— all  the  elements  of  the  understanding  cast  together  in 
tumultuous  disorder — and  knock  at  every  one  of  their 
minds  in  succession.  Think  how  this  has  been  done, — 
by  Demosthenes,  waving  the  multitude  into  repose  from 
his  mound  of  turf,  on  some  Grecian  hill-side  ;  by  Plato 
subduing  the  souls  of  them  who  listened  to  him  undei 
the  boughs  of  a  dim  plane ;  by  Cicero,  in  the  stern  si- 
lence of  the  forum  ;  by  our  own  Chatham,  in  the 
chapel  of  St.  Stephen.  Think  how  each  and  all  not 
only  knocked,  but  entered  ;  wandered  over  the  hearts 
of  their  hearers  ;  traced  the. secret  and  winding  circuits 
of  feeling ;  roused  the  passions  in  their  darkest  recesses 
of  concealment,  knocking,  entering,  searching.  This 
was  much,  but  they  did  more.  In  every  heart  they  set 
up  a  throne ;  they  gave  laws;  they  wielded  over  it  the 
sceptre  of  intellectual  royalty.  Thus  the  Athenian 
crowd  start  up  with  one  accord  and  one  cry  to  march 
against  Philip  ;  and  the  Senate  throbs  with  the  convul- 
si«e  agony  of  indignant  patriotism,  rushing  upon  Cata- 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  391 

line  ;  and  the  vast  assembly  of  genius  and  power  in 
our  own  parliament  is  dissolved  for  a  season — as  hap- 
pened after  an  address  of  Sheridan — that  it  might  re- 
cover from  the  benumbing  wand  of  the  enchanter. 
And  this  is  the  working  of  language  under  the  aspect  of 
speech. 

"  But  it  is  in  the  second  shape  of  language,  that  of 
literature,  in  which  the  most  wonderful  faculty  resides. 
The  power  of  persuasion  is  mighty,  but  perishable  ;  its 
life,  for  the  most  part,  passes  with  the  life  of  the  speaker. 
It  darkens  with  his  eye ;  it  stiffens  with  his  hand ;  it 
freezes  with  his  tongue.  The  swords  of  these  cham- 
pions of  eloquence  are  buried  with  them  in  the  grave. 
Where  is  the  splendid  declamation  of  Bolingbroke? 
Vanished  as  completely  as  the  image  of  his  own  form 
from  the  grass-plots  of  Twickenham !  But  in  that 
speech,  which  is  created  by  the  printing-press  into  lite- 
rature, dwells  a  principle  never  to  be  quenched.  Lite- 
,  rature  is  the  immortality  of  speech.  -Here,  however,  as 
under  the  former  aspect,  the  medium  of  communication 
effects,  in  the  strongest  manner,  the  object  conveyed. 
Hence  it  has  been  ever  found,  that  those  books  are  the 
most  admired  and  the  most  enduring  which,  reflect  the 
thoughts  with  the  most  lucid  simplicity.  Thus  it 
is  in  Homer,  Plato,  Livy,  and  Ariosto.  The  trans- 
parency of  the  diction  preserves  every  feature  of 
thought  unbroken.  And  this  transparency  is  always 
the  result  of  intense  fervor  of  C9nception.  That  exqui- 
site material  through  which,  from  our  sunny  chambers, 
we  gaze  out  on  the  scenery  of  woods  and  gardens,  has 
received  its  crystalline  purity  only  through  the  fiery  pro- 


392  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

cesses  of  the  furnace.  It  was  melted  by  the  flame 
before  the  rough  particles  of  sand  disappeared  in  that 
cloudless  surface  of  beauty,  through  which  the  minutest 
fibre  of  the  leaf,  or  the  purple  streak  upon  the  'tulip,  is 
conspicuous.  It  is  the  same  with  language.  The  harsh 
ingredients  have  been  blended  and  fused  by  the  ardent 
flame  of  an  excited  imagination,  before  it  brightens  into 
that  surface  of  mild  beauty  upon  which  the  physiogno- 
my of  the  faintest  emotion  may  be  distinctly  traced. 
Pope  has  not  omitted  to  notice  this  peculiarity  in  the 
Homeric  poems,  and  to  attribute  it  to  this  cause." 

The  above  remarks  are  strikingly,  and  yet  in  a  de- 
gree mournfully  appropriate  to  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Their  pertinency  consists  in  the  vivid  manner 
in  which  they  describe  the  process  which  has  produced 
the  transparent  force  of  his  style  ;  and  the  only  sad  asso- 
ciation they  suggest  is  that  connected  with  the  fact  that 
when  he  can  be  no  longer  seen  in  the  full  splendors  of 
his  living  speech,  nTuch  of  his  oratorical  influence  will 
have  become  forever  eclipsed.  His  written  eloquence 
is  not  devoid  of  admirable  traits,  but  it  is  his  spoken 
excellence — as  heard,  felt,  seen,  in  himself  alone,  that  is 
so  rarely  excelled. 

There  is  a  vast  superiority  in  those  inspirations  of 
vitality  and  action  .which  enlist  themselves  at  cnce  on 
the  side'  of  truth  with  a  fearlessness  of  argument  and 
enthusiasm  which  bear  .down  all  opposition.  In  the 
greatest  .emergency /Mr.  Preston  does  not  fear  to  aban- 
don himself  to  his  -own  sensations,  and  depend  upon 
them.  Like  the  Scythian  warrior,  he  is -most  deadly  in 
his  aim  when  moving  at  the  fleetest  pace.  This  is  at 


WILLIAM    C,    PRESTON.  393 

the  same  time  the  source  of  great  practical  power  and 
the  cause  of  much  popular  admiration.  There  is  some- 
thing very  fascinating  in  seeing  that  done  with  careless 
ease,  which  most  persons  attempt  only  with  laborious 
difficulty ;  to  witness  the  performance,  causes  the  spec- 
tator to  share  somewhat  in  that  general  animation  with 
which  the  masterly  adept  seems  to  be  inspired.  Though 
at  the  moment  we  may  not  reflect  on  the  great  pains 
which  have  been  taken  beforehand  to  secure  the  facility 
we  witness,  our  pleasure  is  undivided  in  feeling,  as  well 
as  seeing,  the  results  produced.  It  is  only  as  the  mind 
is  free  and  spontaneous  that  it  can  be  pleasing  and  im- 
pressive. Whatever  is  undertaken  by  a  reluctant  un- 
derstanding, and  executed  with  a  servile  hand,  cannot 
be  characterized  by  any  high  degree  of  excellence. — 
Extemporaneous  speech  is  our  orator's  great  forte,  and 
in  this  department  he  is  without  a  superior  in  this  land 
or  age.  "  Lighting  himself,  where'er  he  soars  or  dives, 
with  his  own  bright  brain,"  his  inspired  declamation 
occupies  the  very  first  rank  of  its  kind.  He  has  more 
power  to  astonish,  perhaps,  than  ability  to  inform  ;  and 
yet  in  this  latter  quality  he  is  not  ordinarily  excelled. 
He  has  learned  to  generalize  his  ideas,  and  verify  their 
worth  in  perpetual  practice,  effective  and  appropriate. 
It  is  thus  that  he  has  acquired  the  only  true  criterion  of 
oratorical  worth,  exemplified  by  him ;  while  with  a  wise 
care, 

"  Judge  of  his  art,  through  beauty's  realms  he  flies, 
Selects,  combines,  improves,  diversifies." 

Every  great  mind  is  endowed  with  a  prevailing  cha 
17* 


394  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

acteristie,  to  which  all  other  qualities  minister  without 
being  absorbed  ;  and  this  prevailing  trait,  like  the  key- 
stone of  an  arch,  unites  and  fortifies  all  lesser  powers. 
Agility  does  not  destroy-  firmness,  nor  strength  crush 
?gility ;  elegance  does  not  degenerate  into  effeminacy, 
nor  is  hugeness  mistaken  for  grandeur.  Dignity,  grace, 
and  valor,  when  combined  in  the  greatest  and  most  per- 
fect degree,  Jose  none  of  their  primary  features,  but 
blend  in  harmonious  excellence,  and  present  an  aggre- 
gate of  most  delightful  charms.  Thus  the  Hercules  of 
Glycon,  though  the  symbol  of  absolute,  uniform,  and 
irresistible  strength,  is  swift  as  a  stag,  elastic  as  a  ball, 
and  in  his  rugged  might  graceful  like  Apollo.  So  in 
eloquence,  perfection  does  not  destroy  truth,  or  deface 
elegance.  Racine,  in  all  the  refinement  of  his  art  is 
more  natural  than  Victor  Hugo ;  just  as  the  Python- 
slayer,  in  all  his  divinity,  is  more  human  in  his  form 
and  motion  than  an  Egyptian  colossus. 

Nothing  tends  more  to  destroy  oratorical  effect  than 
insane  profusion  :  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  entire 
absence  of  adornments  is  not  so  much  simplicity,  as 
poverty.  There  may  sometimes  appear  to  be  much 
beauty  when  there  is  no  force ;  as  Milton's  fine  dark 
eyes  continued  to  sparkle  when  they  were  stone  blind. 
But  this  is  not  often  the  case  with  Preston,  whose  pre- 
vailing power  lies  in  profuse  and  vital  enthusiasm. 
He  is  familiar  with  classical  learning,  and  is  a  sincere 
devotee  at  the  shrine  of  all  the  elegant  arts.  Ever  in- 
dustrious to  transfer  the  best  and  most  enduring 
beauties  to  oratory,  he  has,  by  aid  of  his  vivid  imagina- 
tion, imparted  to  the  language  of  the  forum  charms 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTOtf.  395 

which  neither  painting  nor  music  had  the  ability  to 
express.  It  is  this  quality  that  renders  him  habitually 
energetic,  but  seldom  extravagant.  As  Titian,  in  the 
dreadful  familiarity  with  which  he  causes  the  guardian 
snake  of  the  Boeotian  well  to  approach  the  companions 
of  Cadmus,  touched  the  true  vein  of  terror  and  marked 
its  limits,  so  Preston  can  with  a  bold  hand  suggest  the 
horrible  in  a  few  significant  lines,  and  yet  control  him- 
self with  a  sagacious  taste  that  seldom  offends.  In  him, 
this  is  the  inspiration  of  nature,  rather  than  the  dictate 
of  art,  and  is  at  once  the  basis  and  crowning  charm  of 
his  fervid  eloquence.  But 

"  Thy  last,  thy  noblest  task  remains  untold, 
Passion  to  paint,  and  sentiment  unfold." 

To  the  question,  What  are  the  chief  sources  of  Mr. 
Preston's  eloquence  ?  we  would  mention  three — love  of 
the  beautiful,  native  enthusiasm,  and  patriotic  devotion. 

In  the  first  place,  the  inspiring,  beautifying,  and 
ennobling  influence  of  plastic,  pictorial,  and  dramatic 
art  are  loved  by  few,  and  appreciated  by  nope,  with  a 
more  discriminating  and  ardent  zeal  than  by  the  ex- 
Senator  from  South  Carolina.  From  early  manhood  he 
has  been  their  devoted  admirer  and  munificent  patron. 
At  home  and  abroad  he  has  sought  out  the  best  models, 
and  imbued  his  soul  with  their  consummate  charms. 
Their  inarticulate  melody  has  become  the  vernacular 
of  his  heart,  and  this  perpetual  paean  resounding  within, 
has  delicately  attuned  more  earthly  organs,  and  perpet- 
ually coins  language  kindred  to  itself,  and  most  palpable 
to  common  sense. 


396  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

The  elegant  arts  occupy  a  very  important  place  in 
the  education  of  every  man  destined  for  the  functions 
of  public  life.  Aristotle,  in  the  Third  Chapter  of  the 
Eighth  Book  of  his  Politics,  speaking  of  the  statesmen 
of  his  day,  says : — "  All  men  taught  grammatta  or  lit- 
erature, gymnastics  and"  music,  and  many  teen  graphi- 
keen,  or  the  art  of  design,  as  being  useful,  and  abun- 
dantly useful,  to  the  purposes  of  life ;  but  mainly  be- 
cause it  enables  us  to  appreciate  the  merits  of  distin- 
guished artists,  and  carries  us  to  the  contemplation  of 
real  beauty ;  as  letters,  which  are  the  elements  of  cal- 
culation, terminate  in  the  contemplation  of  truth." 

.To  the  same  purpose,  Castiligione,  the  friend  of 
Raphael,  in  his  Cortigiano,  says :  "  Before  I  undertake 
this,  there  is  one  thing  I  desire  to  speak  of,  which, 
because  in  my  judgment  it  appears  of  importance, 
ought  by  no  means  to  be  omitted  in  the  character  of 
our  perfect  statesman,  and  that  is  skill  in  drawing,  and 
a  competent  knowledge  in  the  very  art  of  painting: 
nor  think  it  strange  that  I  require  this  skill  in  a  states- 
man, which  in  these  days  is  looked  upon  as  mechanical, 
and  little  becoming  a  gentleman." 

If  in  all  our  higher  institutions  of  learning  there  were 
galleries  and  competent  professors  of  art,  as  well  as  li- 
braries and  literary  disquisitions,  it  would  be  well  for  the 
genius  of  the  present  generation,  and  auspicious  of  the 
best  cultivation  in  all  future  time.  The  bases  of  the 
arts  touch  each  other :  the  same  principles  govern  all, 
and  they  are  especially  serviceable  to  those  who  would 
perfect  themselves  in  eloquence.  The  ancients  -were 
convinced  of  this,  and  have  transmitted  to  us  the  name 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  397 

of  Theon  the  Samian,  as  owing  his  celebrity  to  that 
intuition  into  the  secret  and  sudden  movements  of 
nature,  which  the  Greeks  called  fantasias,  the  Romans 
msiones,  and  which  are  better  understood  among  our- 
selves by  the  phrase  of  "unpremeditated  conceptions," 
or  the  re-production  of  associated  ideas.  Quintilian  ex- 
plains this  principle  in  the  following  passage  in  his-  rhe- 
toric. Says  he  :  "  We  give  the  name  of  visions  to  what 
the  Greeks  called  fantasies;  that  power  by  which  the  im- 
ages of  absent  things  are  represented  by  the  mind  with 
the  energy  of  objects  moving  before  our  eyes :  he  who 
conceives  these  rightly  will  be  a  master  of  passions  ;  his 
is  that  well-tempered  fancy  which  can  imagine  things, 
voices,  acts,  as  they  really  exist,  a  power,  perhaps,  in  a 
great  measure  dependent  on  our  will.  For  if  these 
images  so  pursue  us  when  our  minds  are  in  a  state  of 
rest,  or  fondly  fed  by  hope,  or  in  a  kind  of  waking  dream, 
that  we  seem  to  travel,  to  sail,  to  fight,  to  harangue  in 
public,  or  to  dispose  of  riches  we  possess  not,  and  all 
this  with  an  air  of  reality,  why  should  we  not  turn  to 
use  this  vice  of  the  mind  ?  Suppose  I  am  to  plead  the 
case  of  a  murdered  man,  why  should  not  every  supposable 
circumstance  of  the  act  float  before  my  eyes  ?  Shall 
I  not  see  the  murderer,  unawares,  rush  in  upon  him  ? 
In  vain  he  tries  to  escape — see  how  pale  he  turns — hear 
you  not  his  shrieks,  his  entreaties  ?  Do  you  not  see  him 
flying,  struck,  falling?  Will  not  his  blood,  his  ashy  sem- 
blance, his  groans,  his  last  expiring  gasp,  seize  on  my 
mind  ?" 

Observation,  meditation,  scientific  research,  and  his- 
torical lore  furnish  the  chief  substratum  of  eloquence. 


398  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

These  transplant  us  into  diversified  regions  and  remotest 
times ;  empires  and  revolutions  of  empires  pass  before 
us  with  memorable  facts  and  actors  in  their  train — the 
legislator,  the  philosopher,  the  discoverer,  the  warrior, 
the  artist,  the  divine,  the  grand  agents  of  Providence  and 
the  beneficent  polishers  of  life,  are  the  personages  which 
learning  may  collect,  and  the  materials  which  reason 
may  employ.  But  there  are  other,  and  often  mightier 
faculties  of  the  mind,  in  popular  address,  which  demand 
other  implements  for  their  effective  use.  We  refer  to 
dramatic  invention,  the  legitimate  employment  of  which 
is  seen  in  the  exhibition  of  character,  in  the  conflict  of 
passions  with  the  rules  and  prejudices  of  society,  the 
rights  and  wrongs  of  the  world.  It  is  this  that  inspires, 
agitates  us  by  reflected  self-love,  with  pity,  terror,  hope 
and  fear,  joy  and  remorse  ;  whatever  makes  thoughts 
and  events,  time  and  place,  the  instruments  of  charac- 
ter and  pathos,  let  the  tissue  be  actual  or  fictitious,  is  its 
legitimate  claim,  and  may  be  subordinated  to  the  most 
profitable  designs.  Such  is  the  invention  of  Sophocles, 
Shakspeare,  and  Raphael ;  and  such  is  the  character 
most  marked  in, Mr.  Preston's  style.  This  imparts  to 
him,  in  his  happier  inspirations,  a  grace  which  is  beauty 
in  motion  ;  it  regulates  the  air,  the  attitudes,  and  move- 
ments of  his  body  and  mind — 

"  The  nameless  graces  which  no  methods  teach, 
And  which  a  master-hand  alone  can  reach." 

Minds  of  pure  Attic  taste  love  the  Hybla  heather  more 
for  its  sweet  hives  than  its  purple  hues ;  but  they  only 
become  more  attractive  when  delicately  tinge:!  with  the 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  399 

last.  Still  we  should  never,  forget  that  natural  beauty 
is  more  desirable  than  the  most  consummate  art,  as  a 
fair  forehead  outshines  the  diamond  diadem  thereon. 
Mere  prettiness  cannot  long  absorb  attention  in  the 
presence  of  native  majesty,  any  more  than  the  transient 
sparkle  of  a  cascade  can  withdraw  the  eye  of  refined 
taste  from  the  mountain  soaring  above  its  source  and 
sublimely  reposing  in  its  evening  silence. 

Some  men  seem  to  have  dreamed  of  an  angel's  face 
in  early  youth,  and  spent  their  whole  subsequent  life  in 
trying  to  embody,  in  every  word  they  utter,  something 
of  its  loveliness.  "  In  act  most  graceful  and  humane, 
their  tongue  drops  manna."  Mr.  Preston  is  of  this 
order  in  eloquence,  inasmuch  as  he  abounds  in  fervid 
imagery,  genial  sentiments,  and  elegant  variety.  There 
is  less  frigid  simplicity  than  animated  propriety  in  his 
composition.  His  language  often  resembles  that  of  the 
Norman  troubadour  who  compared  the  object  of  his 
love  with  a  bird  whose  plumage  assumes  the  hues  of 
every  flower  and  precious  stone.  He  habitually  .de- 
pends almost  entirely  on  the  circumstances  of  the  occa- 
sion or  the  excitement  of  th%Jiour ;  and  such  men  suc- 
ceed admirably,  or  universally  fail.  They  never  drudge 
along  with  the  uniform  calmness  of  stupid  mediocrity. 
They  speak  well  only  when  they  are  manifestly  inspired, 
and  then  they  appear  like  an  oriental  sun,  announced 
by  no  dawn  and  succeeded  by  no  twilight. 

The  second  source  of  Mr.  Preston's  eloquence,  and 
a  very  prolific  one,  is  his  native  enthusiasm.  The  rea- 
son why  great  excellence  is  so  rare  on  the  rostrum,  or 
in  forensic  debate,  results  from  the  necessity  of  com- 


400  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

bining  qualities  the  most  diverse,  as  a  pre-requisite  to 
its  attainment.  To  a  sound  head  there  must  be  united 
a  warm  and  magnanimous  heart.  There  is  truth  in  the 
saying,  that  "something  in  fires  depends  upon  the 
grate  :"  it  is  not  an  exaggerated  assertion  that  almost 
everything  in  eloquence' depends  upon  the  peculiar  tem- 
perament of  the  orator.  If  he  is  by  nature  frigid  and 
formal,  his  speech  will  necessarily  be  barrenner  than 
ice ;  but  if  an  ardent  and  affectionate  spirit  throbs  in 
his  bosom,  it  is  probable  that  a  corresponding  pulse  and 
power  will  characterize  the  language  he  employs. 
Examine  all  great  orators,  and  you  will  invariably  find 
them 

"  Rich  in  invisible  treasures,  like  a  bud 
Of  inborn  sweets,  and  thick  about  the  heart 
With  ripe  and  rosy  b.eauty — full  to  trembling." 

Says  an  agreeable  writer,  "There  are  some  persons  in 
the  world  who  are  special  favorites  among  all  who 
know  them,  who  find  or  make  friends  everywhere ; 
whose  company  every  one  enjoys,  and  from  whom 
every  one  is  loath  to  sepat'ate.  Their  frank  and  easy 
manners  inspire  confidence  at  first  sight,  and  one  num- 
bers them  as  friends  almost  as  soon  as  one  has  made 
their  acquaintance.  No  one  is  ever  '  not  at  home '  to 
them ;  their  visit  is  anticipated  as  a  pleasure ;  and  no 
one  feels  disposed  to  part  with  them  without  the  cordial 
inquiry,  '  When  shall  we  see  you  again  ?'  There  is 
an  exuberance  of  pleasureable  life  about  them  which 
seems  to  diffuse  itself  among  all  around,  and  their  pre- 
sence is  felt  to  be  an  addition  to  the  general  amount  of 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  401 

happiness  in  the  circle  privileged  with  their  company. 
In  selecting  a  party  of  friends,  their  name  always  sug- 
gests itself  first,  and  the  absence  of  any  two  others 
would  be  a  less  disappointment  than  theirs.  Every  one 
seeks  their  side  at  the  dinner-table,  and  he  deems  him- 
self fortunate  whose  chair  in  the  social  circle  is  next  to 
theirs.  Innocent  childhood  loves  to  sit  on  their  knee 
and  prattle  its  earnest  nonsense  in  their  ear;  impetuous 
youth  finds  in  them  cordial  companions  ;  and  old  age 
values  them  as  pleasant  and  estimable  friends.  And 
yet  it  is  not  to  their  personal  comeliness  that  they  are 
indebted  for  their  popularity,  for  their  exterior  is  often 
far  from  prepossessing ;  nor  to  their  intellect,  for  even 
their  best  admirers  do  not  imagine  them  Byrons,  nor  do 
they  themselves  turn  down  their  shirt-collars  to  be 
thought  such.  They  have  no  remarkable  vein  of 
humor  to  boast  of,  never  made  a  pun,  perhaps,  in  their 
lives,  scarcely  know  what  an  epigram  is,  are  quite  inca- 
pable of  setting  the  table  in  a  roar,  and  are  distinguished 
neither  for  their  fine  clothes  nor  their  long  purses. 
One  quality,  however,  they  possess,  which  proves  an 
over-match  for  every  other  distinction,  namely,  a  trans- 
parent kindly  nature,  a  desire  to  promote  the  happiness 
of  all  around  them,  a  generous  warmth  of  feeling,  a 
frank  cordial  bearing,  a  universal  sympathy — in  one 
word,  'heart.'" 

Every  sentence  of  this  description  applies  very  ap 
propriately  to  Mr.  Preston,  barring  what  is  said  about 
punning  and  setting  the  table  in  a  roar.  He  is  no 
bungler  at  that !  Otherwise  the  portrait  is  correct  of 
our  enthusiastic  countryman  in  whom  the  dew-drops 


402  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

that  gemmed  the  morning  of  life  were  not  "  parched 
and  dried  up  in  manhood's  noon."  The  confiding  trust, 
and  uncalculating  generosity  of  youth,  were  not  merged 
into  the  cold  suspicious  selfishness  common  to  our  ma- 
turer  days.  His  head  has  not  been  disciplined  at  the 
expense  of  the  heart ;  and  the  boasted  wisdom  of  age 
has  not  been  made  the  poor  substitute  for  that  freshness 
of  feeling  which  it  is  the  unhappy  tendency  of  artificial 
education  to  depress  if  not  entirely  to  eradicate.  Car- 
rying the  frank  buoyancy  and  indomitable  enthusiasm 
of  early  boyhood  along  with  his  maturing  growth 
through  its  every  stage,  Mr.  Preston  may  now  say,  in 
the  full  meridian  of  his  powers,  "  I  live  in  all  things  and 
am  closed  in  none." 

This  native  generosity,  or  quality  of  heart  of  which 
we  have  spoken,  creates  the  best  writers  and  most 
popular  orators  in  the  world.  It  was  this  that  made 
Shakspeare,  Goldsmith,  Cowper,  and  Burns  what  they 
were  with  the  pen  ;  and  it  was  this  that  endowed  Chat- 
ham, Sheridan,  Patrick  Henry,  and  his  distinguished 
relative,  William  C.  Preston,  with  their  great  power  in 
public  speech.  Such  men  gleam  not  in  the  cold  and 
lifeless  radiance  of  the  moon,  but  with  the  genial  and 
vitalizing  splendors  of  the  sun.  The  enthusiasm  glow- 
ing in  their  own  bosom  has  an  affinity  for  all  affection, 
and  inclines  all  hearts  to  itself  as  the  magnet  draws 
steel.  It  is  a  power  grounded  on  the  broad  base  of  hu- 
man nature,  and  vibrates  upon  the  feelings,  not  of  this 
or  that  conventional  class  of  persons,  but  in  the  breast 
of  our  common  humanity.  Herein  lies  the  magical 
influence  of  some  men  in  the  pulpit,  at  the  bar,  and  in 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  403 

the  senate  ;  they  are  actualities  and  not  shams,  have 
soul-leverage  about  them  and  can  heave  the  world, 
calling  forth  smiles  and  tears,  shouts  and  sobs  at  will. 
Every  word  they  speak 

"  Doth  seek  its  way  into  the  list'ning  heart, 
As  will  a  bird  unto  her  secret  nest, — 
Then  sit  and  sing." 

The  orator  under  consideration  is  not  one  of  those 
apathetic  beings  who  never  feel  themselves  enlarged  and 
ennobled  by  those  inspirations  which  elevate  the  person 
in  whom  they  swell  above  the  ordinary  forces  of  dull 
humanity  in  the  full  fruition  of  pure  and  exalted  joys. 
On  the  contrary,  his  soul  teems  with  that  native  and  en- 
thusiastic imagination  which  has  been  the  fortune  of 
each  great  poet,  painter,  and  orator  that  has  ever  lived. 
Every  character  moulded  by  such  creators  as  ^Eschylus, 
Homer,  Dante,  or  the  Bard  of  Avon,  is  energized  by 
them  in  and  through  the  heart.  In  the  language  of  a 
powerful  living  author :  "  Every  circumstance  01  sen- 
tence of  their  being,  speaking,  or  seeming,  is  seized  by 
process  from  within,  and  is  referred  to  that  inner  secret 
spring  of  which  the  hold  is  never  lost  for  an  instant;  so 
that  every  sentence,  as  it  has  been  thought  out  from  the 
heart,  opens  for  us  a  way  down  to  the  heart,  leads  us  to 
the  centre,  and  then  leaves  us  to  gather  what  more  we 
may ;  it  is  the  open  sesame  of  a  huge,  obscure,  endless 
cave,  with  inexhaustible  treasure  of  pure  gold  scattered 
in  it:  the  wandering  about  and  gathering  the  pieces 
may  be  left  to  any  of  us,  all  can  accomplish  that;  but 


404  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

the  first  opening  of  that  invisible  door  in  the  rock  is  of 
the  imagination  only. 

It  will  easily  be  inferred  from  what  we  have  said  con- 
cerning this  particular  trait  that  it  is  far  from  preserving 
its  possessor  from  every  fault.  Of  all  men,  he  will  be 
inclined  to  muse  more  than  meditate,  dictate  to  an 
amanuensis  rather  than  handle  his  own  pen.  He  would 
prefer  riding  with  Ariosto  on  winged  horses  through  the 
air,  instead  of  sitting  down  with  Milton  to  help  "  waste  a 
sullen  day  with  neat  repast  of  Attic  taste  and  wine." 
Mr.  Preston,  by  natural  endowments,  if  not  by  habitual 
preference,  is  of  that  class  who  "  rather  love  a  splendid 
failing  than  a  petty  good;"  and  whose  spontaneous 
potency  enables  them  to  sway  the  masses  of  mankind  as 
they  list,  now  "  leading  them  with  Tyrtaean  fire,"  now 
singing  them  to  rest  with  gentlest  murmurings.  A  mind 
thus  impregnated  with  the  flames  of  oratorical  genius, 
though  it  may  be  greatly  wanting  in  certain  attributes, 
will  surely  in  the  end  crown  itself  with  the  brightest 
honors,  despite  the  cavils  of  envy  or  the  sneers  of  mal- 
ice. That  is  a  very  inferior  style  which  is  character- 
ized by  no  manifest  defects  and  no  striking  beauties. 
Such  speakers  must  be  classed  with  them  who,  as  the 
great  poet  of  character  says,  are  "  men  of  no  mark  or 
likelihood."  But  to  this  category  our  orator  does  not 
belong.  He  deals  not  in  "the  fantastic  visions  of  fruit- 
ful mediocrity,"  but  with  more  valuable  materials 
expended  in  a  more  glorious  career.  Homer's  descrip- 
tion of  Venus  approaching  Anchises,  and  her  influence 
on  the  woods,  the  birds,  the  sea,  the  fiercest  animals  even, 
may  be  taken  as  a  fit  symbol  of  the  power  which  the 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  405 

fervidly  beautiful  eloquence  of  Mr.  Preston  exerts  on  all 
classes  everywhere. 

We  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  his  patriotic  devotion, 
based  on  and  blended  with  his  native  enthusiasm  and 
love  of  the  beautiful,  is  to  him  the  third,  and  perhaps 
most  prolific  source  of  oratorical  power. 

At  the  outset,  we  arranged  before  the  reader  a  variety 
of  examples  showing  the  versatility  of  which  Mr.  Preston 
is  capable  in  composition.  His  elocution  accords  exactly 
thereto.  In  his  medium  manner,  he  is  all  ease,  frank- 
ness, and  bland  familiarity  ;  brilliant  in  expression,  lively, 
even  animated  to  a  high  degree  often,  but  not  too  much 
so,  to  make  a  very  agreeable  impression  on  his  audience, 
whatever  may  be  the  theme.  Then,  his  language  is 
"soft  as  a  feathed-footed  cloud  in  heaven,"  and  his  lucid 
demonstration  is  "  full  of  all-sparkling  sparry  loveliness." 
He  often  falls  into  this  careless,  colloquial  style,  in  a 
modulated  tone,  clear,  distinct  enunciation,  and  with  a 
rich  exuberance  of  unpremeditated  sentiment,  addressing 
the  mind  and  heart  of  the  delighted  audience,  and  letting 
the  ear  glean  after  what  it  can. 

On  occasions  of  greater  importance,  he  indicates 
more  care  in  preparation,  and  presents  more  elabo- 
rated thought.  When  he  sets  himself  earnestly  at  work 
with  all  his  energies  to  meet  a  great  emergency,  the  in- 
telligent witness  of  the  result  feels  that,  as  Zeuxis  col- 
lected all  the  beauties  of  Agrigentum  to  compose  a  per- 
fect model,  so  Preston,  when  he  wishes,  can  lay  every 
department  of  excellence  under  contribution  to  com- 
pose his  argument  and  adorn  it  with  unequalled  charms. 
From  his  place  in  the  Senate,  he  poured  molten  gold 


406  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

into  the  crucible  of  politics,  with  gems  gathered  from 
every  glittering  grotto,  and  fragrance  distilled  from 
every  blooming  field ;  and,  lo !  there  issued  from  the 
fusion,  many  substantial  and  splendid  formulas,  beside 
much  excellence  that  was  palpable  only  to  the  most 
delicate  sense. 

But  the  best  strength  of  this  enthusiastic  patriot  is  never 
taxed  to  the  utmost  except  when  he  feels  that  real  and 
fearful  dangers  threaten  the  welfare  of  his  own  State  or 
me  Union  at  large.  He  loves  his  country  deeply,  pas- 
sionately, and  we  sincerely  believe  that  no  man  is  more 
willing  to  make  greater  sacrifices  for  the  general  weal,  or 
more  competent  to  promote  it.  Few  excel  him  in  gen- 
tler strains,  "  the  sway  of  social,  sovereign  peace ;"  but 
absolutely  none  like  him  can  effectively  command  that 
more  fiery  eloquence  that  rings  on  the  startled  world 
like  a  clarion,  and  is  "swift,  in  use  diverse,  as  is  a  war- 
rior's spear."  He  then  breathes  all  the  firm  resolute- 
ness of  the  martial-god,  while  "his  red  shield  drips 
before  him."  He  who  is  not  sincerely  patriotic,  lacks  a 
fundamental  private  virtue,  and  is  as  unworthy  of  pub- 
lic confidence  as  he  will  be  certainly  destitute  of  popular 
power.  Practical  experience  and  undoubted  love  ot 
country  are  essential  to  inspire  respect  and  excite  affec- 
tionate sympathy.  Thus  qualified,  the  orator  will  speak 
instinctively  and  exactly  as  all  true  men  would  feel, 
speak,  and  act  in  the  circumstances  he  anticipates  or 
describes.  In  all  inspired  eloquence,  the  results  will  be 
identical  in  kind,  but  diversified  in  degree,  tinged  with 
the  individuality  of  the  orator,  and  measured  as  to 
its  influence  by  the  depth  and  durability  of  his  actual 


WILLIAM    C.    PRESTON.  407 

emotions.  For  instance,  ^Eschylus  was  a  Marathonian 
hero — Sophocles  a  philosopher  ;  and  their  works  exactly 
comport  with  their  respective  characters. 

Webster  and  Preston  used  to  sit  close  to  each  other 
in  the  American  Senate.  How  unlike  !  Listening  to 
one,  is  like  going  from  solemn,  swelling  music,  into  a 
stately  sculpture-gallery,  where  you  are  surrounded  with 
god-like  forms,  which  give  you  (he  impression  of  dis- 
tinct proportion  and  severest  beauty,  and  which  yet,  by 
their  majesty,  bend  you  low  in  awful  reverence.  The 
other  resembles  an  Italian  parterre  in  full  bloom,  melo- 
dious with  sparkling  fountains,  embellished  with  graceful 
vases  and  dancing  fawns,  redolent  of  sweet  odors,  and 
resounding  with  happy  voices  chatting  and  singing 
near,  while  the  volcano  burns  on  the  view,  and  a  fear- 
ful thunder-gust  is  beginning  to  obscure  the  sun. 


•-& 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THOMAS    CORWIN, 

THE  NATURAL  ORATOR. 

To  sketch  the  life  of  Mr.  Corwin,  analyze  his  mind, 
and  describe  his  person,  constitute  the  general  purpose 
of  this  chapter,  the  execution  of  which  will  be  attempt- 
ed under  these  three  general  heads. 

In  the  first  place,  it  will  be  desirable  to  present  such 
biographical  facts  as  are  requisite  to  elucidate  the  public 
career  of  the  distinguished  orator  of  Ohio,  and  in  doing 
this,  we  shall  rely  mainly  on  the  accuracy  and  refined 
taste  of  William  Green,  Esq.  of  Cincinnati.  An  article 
from  his  pen  contributed  to  the  American  Review,  Sept. 
1847,  gives  the  following  details : — 

"  Thomas  Corwin  was  born  in  Bourbon  county,  Ken- 
tucky, July  29th,  1794.  At  the  age  of  four  years,  he 
was  made  a  permanent  resident  of  Ohio,  by  the  removal 
of  his  parents  to  Warren  county,  in  that  State,  in  the 
year  1798.  His  father,  for  many  years,  was  one  of  the 
most  respectable  and  honored  men  of  Ohio.  For  a 
long  time  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  the  State,  he 
was  distinguished  for  the  dignity  and  impartiality  with 
which  he  presided,  for  several  years,  over  its  upper 

- 


'TV 


£••& 


•::A|  •?• 


•*%• 


THOMAS    COEWIN.  409 

branch.  The  son  was,  and  is  worthy  of  the  father 
The  early  pursuits  of  the  former  were  of  the  humble 
kind;  suited  to  a  position  entirely  unpretending,  and 
admirably  calculated,  under  the  influence  of  the  consist 
ent  presence  of  a  virtuous  example,  to  establish  in  the 
early  character  the  foundations  of  the  highest  future 
usefulness.  As  might  be  supposed,  from  the  influence 
of  such  early  associations,  instantly  acting  upon  a 
strong  and  sensitive  mind,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
uncompromising  firmness,  and  integrity  of  character, 
should  everywhere  be  associated  with  his  name,  among 
the  companionships  and  neighborhoods  of  his  early  life. 
"The  community  in  which  he  was  educated,  and 
where  are  to  be  found  his  warmest  friends,  because  there 
he  is  best  known,  were  not  less  sensible  of  his  talents 
than  of  his  virtues.  His  mind  was  early  accustomed 
to  habits  of  thought ;  and  thus  fitted  him,  at  an  early 
day,  to  exert  a  decided  influence  upon  those  around 
him,  in  concerns  of  a  general  public  interest.  It  may 
be  said  of  him,  as  of  but  few  others,  comparatively 
speaking,  that  he  was  grounded  and  formed  in  the  prin- 
ciples calculated  to  render  a  public  man  eminently 
useful,  before  he  became  one.  Instead  of  waiting  for 
public  life  to  teach  him  lessons,  he  thoroughly  learned  in 
private  life  what  could  not  fail  to  fit  him  for  a  public 
one.  This  learning  in  him  was  associated  with  a  uni- 
form and  unyielding  adherence  to  abstract  truth ;  and, 
therefore,  doubtless  it  is,  that  in  a  public  career  of 
some  twenty-two  or  three  years,  he  has  always  been  on 
the  same  side  of  principle,  whenever,  in  occasional 
issues  with  political  friends,  it  has  been  supposed  to  be 
18 


410  LIVING    ORATORS    IN     AMERICA 

in  conflict  with  expediency.  Such  a  character  in  Mr. 
Corwin,  which  made  him  an  early  object  -of  attention  to 
the  people  of  his  neighborhood,  is  happily  destined  to  do 
credit  to  a  political  career;  and  he  had  passed  but  a 
short  period  the  constitutional  age  of  eligibility,  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Ohio. 

"  His  career  as  a  Representative  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, though  short,  was  characterized  by  the  marks  of 
independence,  uprightness,  and  eloquence,  which  have 
given  him  so  much  distinction  since.  Those  who  knew 
him  intimately  twenty  years  ago,  express  no  surprise  at 
his  course  on  the  Mexican  question,  at  the  last  session 
of  Congress.  Nor  were  they  surprised  that  that  course 
was  vindicated  by  an  effort  of  argument  and  eloquence 
such  as  the  country  or  the  world  has  rarely  witnessed. 
On  a  smaller  theatre,  the  same  sort  of  power,  both 
moral  and  intellectual,  had  been  seen  before,  and  with 
something  of  the  same  effort ;  for,  if  we  remember 
rightly,  his  high  tone  in  vindication  of  a  great  and  car- 
dinal abstract  right,  in  the  Legislature  of  the  State, 
placed  him  for  a  short  season  in  a  sort  of  cloud  with 
the  friends  with  whom  he  generally  acted.  But  his 
election  to  Congress,  a  short  time  after,  showed  that  the 
cloud  was  only  a  passing  one,  and  that  he  was  all  the 
stronger  with  a  discriminating  people  ;  that  he  had 
dared,  in  the  honest  conviction  that  he  was  right,  to 
brave  the  ordeal  of  a  temporarily-opposing  public  senti- 
ment. 

"  Mr.  Corwin's  career  in  Congress  was  of  nine  years' 
continuance.  He  resigned  his  seat  after  the  first  session 
of  the  last  term,  in  consequence  of  being  made  the  can- 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  411 

didate  for  Governor  of  Ohio.  His  course  in  Congress, 
was  that  of  a  careful,  thoughtful,  conscientious  man. 
His  appearance  in  debate  was  rare,  but  always  effec- 
tive. The  announcement  of  his  name*was  an  assur- 
ance of  profound  stillness  in  the  House.  That  stillness 
continued  while  he  occupied  the  floor,  except  as  it  was 
sometimes  broken  by  demonstrations  of  excitement, 
such  as  wit,  argument,  and  eloquence  like  his  must  oc- 
casionally produce. 

"  Mr.  Corwin's  career  as  Governor  of  Ohio  was  limited 
to  a  single  term  of  two  years.  His  position,  under  the 
Constitution,  which  makes  the  executive  office  merely 
nominal,  was  one  rather  of  dignity  than  of  power ;  and 
afforded  him  but  little  opportunity  for  the  exhibition  of 
those  talents  for  which  his  course  in  other  positions  has 
shown  him  so  remarkable. 

"  His  election  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  by 
the  Whig  party,  against  a  competition  in  its  own  ranks, 
which  was,  of  itself,  high  honor,  was  perhaps  the  truest 
and  highest  expression  that  could  have  been  given  of 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  people  of 
Ohio,  and  especially  by  the  Whig  party." 

From  this  brief  biographical  review,  we  proceed, 
secondly,  to  portray  Mr.  Corwin's  mental  character,  and 
remark  that  his  mind  appears  to  be  eminently  unso- 
phisticated by  pedantry,  unshackled  by  prejudice,  and 
unterrified  by  power. 

In  the  first  place  few  minds  have  been  developed  in 
public  life,  adorning  the  highest  functions  with  learning 
exact  and  varied,  that  have  so  constantly  maintained  an 
air  entirely  foreign  to  everything  like  pedantic  display. 


412  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

His  erudition  is  copious,  but  unostentatious ;  and  his  task  is 
all  the  more  infallible,  because  it  is  the  legitimate  offspring 
of  nature,  educated  by  propriety.  Learning  is  used  by 
him  as  means,*hot  as  an  end  ;  moral  grandeur,  native 
and  indestructible,  rises  spDntaneously  from  his  soul,  and 
this  is  as  superior  to  all  pedantic  artificialness,  as  the 
perfected  temple  is  superior  to  the  chippings  that  lie 
about,  or  the  scaffolding  soon  to  be  thrown  down.  If 
man  is  constantly  seen  in  his  work,  what  he  produces 
will  be  of  little  value.  He  cannot  have  too  much  sci- 
entific accuracy  or  literary  embellishment,  but  these 
should  be  felt  rather  than  seen.  When  scholastic 
phrases  abound  more  than  the  spirit  of  wisdom,  they 
are  the  signs  of  a  debased,  mistaken,  and  false  style  of 
eloquence.  "  The  skill  of  the  artist,  and  the  perfection 
of  his  art,  are  never  proved  until  both  are  forgotten." 
Only  that  which  is  true  to  the  structure  and  wants  of 
the  soul  is  potent  and  perpetual  in  its  influence  thereon  ; 
since,  as  Cicero  intimates,  time  obliterates  the  conceits 
of  opinion  or  fashion,  and  establishes  the  verdicts  of 
nature. 

He  who  is  destined  to  become  a  great  and  beneficent 
orator,  will  early  learn  not  only  to  see  minutely  the 
general  laws  which  govern  the  human  mind,  but  by 
critical  observations  in  the  outward  world,  and  profound 
self- analysis,  he  becomes  master  of  those  nice  traits  by 
which  different  classes  are  individualized,  and  hence  can 
palpably  portray  the  hopes  and  feelings  of  all  bosoms, — 
like  the  Arabian  Magician,  he  holds  a  polished  mirror  to 
our  gaze,  wherein  we  behold  not  ourselves  and  the  pre- 
sent only,  but  the  thought?  and  emotions  of  the  past, 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  413 

scenes  the  most  remote,  and  characters  the  most  diver- 
sified. Men  thus  endowed  will  touch  most  sensibly  a 
mixed  audience,  as  well  as  interest,  to  the  greatest  de- 
gree, the  most  refined.  Not  only  his  graver  productions 
will  the  erudite  enjoy,  but,  in  common  with  the  unso- 
phisticated masses,  they  will  keenly  relish  his  lighter 
and  more  homely  strains,  according  to  the  account 
given  of  such  works  by  the  inimitable  master  of  wisdom 
and  naturalness  : 

"  They  were  old  and  plain, 
The  spinsters  and  the  knitters  in  the  sun, 
And  the  free  maids  that  weave  their  thread  with  bones 
Did  use  to  chaunt  them." 

Candidates  for  public  life  are  often  very  solicitous  to 
obtain  at  the  outset  a  bold  position  suitable  for  the  dis- 
play of  their  fine  acquirements ;  but  those  are  sure  to 
be  most  successful  who  seek  rather  to  deserve  popular 
favor  than  to  forestall  it.  "  Do  not  trouble  yourself  too 
much  about  the  light  on  your  statue,"  said  Michael  An- 
gelo  to  the  young  sculptor;  "the  light  of  the  public 
square  will  test  its  value."  It  is  not  in  proportion  to 
the  dry  shells  of  knowledge  gathered  in  the  isolated  clois- 
ter that  a  public  character  is  to  be  estimated,  but  by  the 
living  and  practical  energies  he  has  cultivated  in  actual 
conflicts  with  opposing  elements  and  impetuous  mankind. 
Let  the  aspirant  strive  most  of  all  to  be  somebody,  in 
head  and  heart,  and  there  is  no  danger  but  the  world 
will  soon  appreciate  his  real  worth.  Whatever  is 
natural,  true,  and  good,  never  long  fails  of  being  sincerely 
and  universally  esteemed.  Why  is  it  that  admiration  fo« 


414  LIVWG    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

works  of  consun  mate  excellence  is  undiminished  by  dis- 
tance or  time  ;  that  masterpieces  excite  the  same  feelings 
now  as  when  they  were  first  created,  and  are  regarded 
with  the  same  rapture  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  the 
Thames,  the  Hudson,  or  the  Ohio,  as  when  they  sancti- 
fied the  temples  of  Athens,  ennobled  the  martial  trophies 
of  Rome,  or  adorned  the  gardens  of  Florence  ?  It  is 
because  they  are  imbued  with  those  elements  of  truth 
which  pervade  the  human  soul  and  the  universe  of  God. 
Works  of  this  stamp  are  scarce,  but  they  are  never 
trite.  For  instance,  the  frequent  mention  of  most  wri- 
ters soon  palls  on  the  mind,  but  the  world  has  not  yet 
grown  tired  of  Shakspeare's  name  or  thoughts.  His 
volumes  are  like  that  of  nature,  and  we  can  turn  to  them 
perpetually  without  weariness  or  disgust : — 

11  Age  cannot  wither,  nor  custom  stale 
His  infinite  variety." 

Sydenham  has  beautifully  said,  whosoever  describes 
a  violet  exactly  as  to  its  color,  taste,  smell,  form,  and 
other  properties,  will  find  the  description  agree  in  most 
particulars  with  all  the  violets  in  the  world.  It  is  the 
same  in  eloquence  :  he  who  can  most  lucidly  express  a 
truthful  emotion  from  his  own  heart  will  most  strongly 
affect  the  largest  audience.  Men  differ  less  in  sense 
than  in  sentiment;  he  who  draws  from  his  intellect 
only  may  be  understood  by  a  limited  class  whose 
mental  conceptions  correspond ;  but  he  who  embodies 
in  plain  language  his  own  naturally  excited  sensibilities, 
will  be  immediately  felt  and  appreciated  by  all  mankind. 


THOMAS    CORW1N.  415 

If  one  would  be  perpetually  interesting  he  must  be 
perpetually  varied.  Certain  medicines  tend  to  produce 
immediate  and-  profuse  perspiration,  but  if  continued 
too  long,  they  relax  the  system  and  fatally  congeal  the 
fountain  of  life.  It  is  the  same  with  unnatural  excite- 
ment or  insipid  monotony.  It  is  necessary  to  be  neat 
without  being  fantastic,  and  free  without  carelessness. 
Simplicity  of  diction  is  a  grand  merit,  infinitely  trans- 
cending all  artificial  trickery,  or  stately,  stilted  march  of 
language.  Johnson  well  observed  that  Cato's  Soliloquy 
is  an  instance  to  prove  that  the  most  solemn  and 
elevated  thought  may  be,  in  the  most  impressive  man- 
ner, conveyed  in  language  of  the  utmost  simplicity. 
Pedantic  ostentation,  and  assumed  grimace  are  super- 
latively contemptible  when  compared  with  real  wisdom 
and  honest  passion.  When  the  tragedian  of  Athens 
moved  all  hearts  as  he  clasped  the  burial  urn  and  burst 
into  broken  sobs,  there  were  few,  perhaps,  who  knew 
that  it  held  the  ashes  of  his  own  son,  but  all  were 
thrilled  by  his  real  emotion  thus  produced.  When  the 
feeling  is  that  of  nature,  and  tones  are  truthful,  all  kin- 
dred natures  melt,  and  tears  are  spontaneously  com- 
mingled from  all  hearts. 

In  the  second  place,  Mr.  Corwin's  mind  is  unshackled 
by  prejudice,  as  well  as  unsophisticated  by  pedantry. 
Truthfulness  to  his  own  premeditated  convictions 
seems  to  constitute  its  presiding  principle  and  prolific 
force.  His  chief  volume  is  man,  his  teacher  truth,  his 
school  society  at  large :  therein  he  has  learned  to  draw 
the  subtle  discriminations  of  mental  action  in  every 
stage  of  life,  and  amongst  every  class  of  mankind.  In 


416  LIVING     ORATORS   IN    AMERICA. 

those  happy  inspirations  in  which  Mr.  Corwin  does  not 
so  much  come  to  nature,  as  nature  comes  to  him,  he 
transmits  her  features  like  a  lucid  glass,  unmodified  by 
factitious  tints  or  stains.  He  is  powerful  because  he  is 
true,  expressing  frankly  and  fearlessly  what  he  distinctly 
sees  and  acutely  feels:  hence  his  sentiments  wind 
resistlessly  through  the  wards  of  human  hearts,  stealing 
their  incarnate  strength  to  conquer  passion  and  ignoble 
prejudice.  Spontaneous  energy  and  instinctive  grace  oi- 
manner  poise  his  language  and  exalt  his  argument,  in  a 
mode  peculiar  to  himself,  and  which  equally  surprises 
the  fancy,  persuades  the  judgment,  and  affects  the  heart. 
He  is  less  skilled  in  the  refinements  of  art,  than  in  the 
power  of  catching  the  passions  as  they  rise  in  the 
breast,  or  escape  from  the  lips  of  nature  herself.  This 
is  the  grand  talisman  of  oratorical  mastership — 

"  Which,  like  the  fahled  stone,  conceived  of  fire, 
Son  of  the  sun,  transmutes  all  seen  to  soul." 

Mr.  Corwin  has  ever  cherished  large  and  inspiring 
views  of  life.  His  mind,  in  its  philosophical  excursions, 
is  not  manacled  by  a  wretched  faith  in  obsolete  formu- 
las; but  believes  in  the  moral  progress  of  the  human 
race,  possesses  a  strong  sympathy  with  all  its  lofty  aspi- 
rations, and  is  consecrated  to  the  beneficent  task  of 
crushing  great  evils,  and  mitigating  acute  pangs.  The 
heaven-strung  chords  of  man's  immortal  soul  are  all 
"free  within  him,  to  vibrate  at  the  slightest  sigh  breathed 
from  sorrowing  hearts,  and  it  is  from  this  inimitable  and 
inexhaustible  source  within  that  he  draws  those  diversi- 
fied chains  of  thrilling  power  which  so  strikingly  charac- 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  417 

terize  his  living  speech.  Man  is  not  a  being  of  thought 
only,  but  also  of  feeling ;  he  is  a  whole,  composed  of 
various  related  powers,  and  to  this  susceptible  unity, 
the  aggregate  of  multifarious  variety,  the  orator  must 
speak  with  correspondent  tones,  if  he  would  hope  to 
persuade.  Then  words,  like  enchanting  hieroglyphics, 
interpreted  by  the  flames  kindled  at  the  chief  source  of 
passion,  glide  through  the  eye,  strike  charmingly  on  the 
ear,  stir  up  the  mind,  take  captive  the  imagination, 
besiege  the  understanding,  and  conduct  the  listener 
through  delicious  conviction  to  confirmed  belief.  Mr. 
Cor  win's  mind  may  be  symbolized  by  the  bee,  not  when 
cramped  and  cringing  in  his  self-built,  narrow  cell;  but 
pursuing  a  bright  and  brave  life  upon  the  wing  among 
flowers.  Conventionalities  never  cripple  him  in  the 
presence  of  duty,  but  he  darts  forward  natural  and  free. 

"  As  morning  wind,  with  wing  fresh  wet, 
Shakes  dew  out  of  the  violet." 

No  great  and  lasting  reputation  was  ever  gained  in 
any  department  of  mental  excellence,  but  by  a  close 
and  correct  representation  of  reality.  Great  artists, 
writers,  and  speakers  are  universally  admired  only  as 
they  penetrate  to  the  deep  substratum  of  natural  charac- 
ter, which,  however  disguised  and  modified  by  local 
circumstances,  is  in  essence  everywhere  the  same.  It 
is  only  as  the  voice  of  nature,  the  vernacular  tongue  of 
all  our  race,  speaks  through  mental  creations,  that  they 
are  endowed  with  the  highest  and  most  attractive 
worth ;  as  it  was  only  when  the  Spirit  of  God  moved 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep,  that  order,  beauty,  and  sub- 
18* 


418  LIVING    OEATOR8    TO    AMERICA. 

limity  stood  revealed  to  the  world.  Homer  pleases, 
wherever  the  springs  of  social  life  are  pure  ;  and  is 
read  with  delight  by  all  classes,  in  almost  every  culti- 
vated language,  because  he  is  true  to  the  emotions  of 
all.  He  takes  us  at  once  into  the  Grecian  councils ; 
walks  directly  on  the  banks  of  Scamander ;  deals  in 
real  armies  and  real  heroes.  We  see  Paris  going  out 
to  battle  like  the  war-horse  prancing  to  the  river  side ; 
the  wife,  the  mother,  in  natural  anxiety ;  or,  most 
touching  of  all,  the  aged  and  mourning  father  a  sup- 
pliant at  the  feet  of  the  youthful  hero  who  destroyed 
his  son.  And  how  did  the  greatest  bard  of  modern 
times  people  the  fancies  of  his  readers,  and  guarantee 
to  himself  perpetual  influence  but,  as  Jeffrey  suggests, 
"  in  the  delicate  sensibility  with  which  he  has  traced, 
and  the  natural  eloquence  with  which  he  has  pointed 
out  that  fond  familiarity  with  beautiful  forms  and  im- 
ages— that  eternal  recurrence  to  what  is  sweet  or  ma- 
jestic in  the  simple  aspects  of  nature — that  indestruct- 
ible love  of  flowers  and  odors,  and  dews  and  clear 
waters,  and  soft  airs  and  sounds,  and  bright  skies,  and 
woodland  solitudes,  and  moonlight  bowers,  which  are 
the  material  elements  of  poetry — and  that  fine  sense  of 
their  undefinable  relation  to  mental  emotion,  which  is 
its  essence  and  vivifying  soul — and  which,  in  the  midst 
of  Shakspeare's  most  busy  and  atrocious  scenes,  falls 
like  gleams  of  sunshine  on  rocks  and  ruins — contrast- 
ing with  all  that  is  rugged  and  repulsive,  and  reminding 
us  of  the  existence  of  purer  and  brighter  elements ! — 
which  HE  ALONE  has  poured  out  from  the  richness  of 
his  own  mind,  without  effort  or  restraint;  and  contrived 


THOMAS    CORIVIN.  419 

to  intermingle  with  the  play  of  all  the  passions,  and  the 
vulgar  course  of  this  world's  affairs,  without  deserting 
for  an  instant  the  proper  business  of  the  scene,  or  ap- 
pearing to  pause  or  digress,  from  the  love  of  ornament 
or  need  of  repose  ! — HE  ALONE,  who,  when  the  object 
requires  it,  is  always  keen  and  worldly  and  practical — 
and  who  yet,  without  changing  his  hand,  or  stopping 
his  course,  scatters  around  him,  as  he  goes,  all  sounds 
and  shapes  of  sweetness — and  conjures  up  landscapes 
of  immortal  fragrance  and  freshness,  and  peoples  them 
with  spirits  of  glorious  aspect  and  attractive  grace — 
and  is  a  thousand  times  more  full  of  fancy,  and  imagery, 
and  splendor,  than  those  who,  in  pursuit  of  such  en- 
chantments, have  shrunk  back  from  the  delineation  of 
character  or  passion,  and  declined  the  discussion  of 
human  duties  and  cares.  More  full  of  wisdom,  and 
ridicule,  and  sagacity,  than  all  the  moralists  and  satirists 
that  ever  existed — he  is  more  wild,  airy,  and  inventive, 
and  more  pathetic  and  fantastic,  than  all  the  poets  of 
all  regions  and  ages  of  the  world  : — and  has  all  those 
elements*so  happily  mixed  up  in  him,  and  bears  his  high 
faculties  so  temperately,  that  the  most  severe  reader  can- 
not complain  of  him  for  want  of  strength  or  of  reason — 
nor  the  most  sensitive  for  defect  of  ornament  or  inge- 
nuity. Everything  in  him  is  in  unmeasured  abundance, 
and  unequalled  perfection — but  everything  so  balanced 
and  kept  in  subordination,  as  not  to  jostle  or  disturb 
or  take  the  place  of  another.  The  most  exquisite 
poetical  conceptions,  images,  and  descriptions,  are 
given  with  such  brevity,  and  introduced  with  such 
skill,  as  merely  to  adorn,  without  loading  the  sense 


420  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

they  accompany.  Although  his  sails  are  purple  and 
perfumed,  and  his  prow  of  beaten  gold,  they  waft  him 
on  his  voyage  not  less,  but  more  rapidly  and  directly, 
than  if  they  had  been  composed  of  baser  materials.  All 
his  excellencies,  like  those  of  Nature  herself,  are  thrown 
out  together ;  and,  instead  of  interfering  with,  support 
and  recommend  each  other.  His  flowers  are  not  tied  up 
in  garlands,  nor  his  fruits  crushed  into  baskets — but 
spring  living  from  the  soil,  in  all  the  dew  and  freshness 
of  youth ;  while  the  graceful  foliage  in  which  they  lurk, 
and  the  ample  branches,  the  rough  and  vigorous  stem, 
and  the  wide-spreading  roots  on  which  they  depend, 
are  present  along  with  them,  and  share  in  their  places, 
the  equal  care  of  their  Creator." 

Boileau  compressed  much  meaning  in  his  memorable 
verse,  that  "  nothing  is  beautiful  but  what  is  natural." 
The  way  to  write  and  speak  in  words  and  tones  that 
will  effectively  and  universally  impress,  is  to  write  and 
speak  sincerely.  That  alone  can  impel  which  God  has 
made  powerful — truth  and  honesty.  Life  Qnlv  imparts 
life,  and  by  true  utterances  alone  are  indelible  impres- 
sions produced.  An  eye  that  can  see,  an  ear  that  can 
hear,  a  heart  that  can  feel,  and  a  resolution  that  dares 
follow  the  convictions  of  truth  in  the  path  of  nature  ; 
these  are  the  grand  characteristics  of  true  eloquence, 
and  its  chief  creators.  He  who  makes  nature  his  con- 
stant and  intimate  companion,  will  thereby  take  all  the 
world  into  a  delighted  companionship,  and  will  have 
power  to  sway  them  when  or  where  his  purposes 
may  lead.  It  is  the  blending  of  theory  and  practice, 
abstract  reason  and  simole  sense,  oroducing  consummate 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  421 

worth  ;  to  which  union  in  the  highest  eloquence,  we 
may  apply  the  answer  of  Polixenes,  in  the  Winter's 
Tale,  to  Perdita's  neglect  of  the  streaked  gilly-flowers, 
because  she  had  heard  it  said, 

"  There  is  an  art  which  in  their  piedness  shares 
With  great  creating  nature. 

Pol.    Say  there  be  : 
Yet  nature  is  made  better  by  no  mean, 
But  nature  makes  that  mean.     So  ev'n  that  art, 
Which  you  say  adds  to  nature,  is  an  art 
That  nature  makes !     You  see,  sweet  maid,  we  many 
A  gentler  scion  to  the  wildest  stock  : 
And  make  conceive  a  bark  of  ruder  kind 
By  bud  of  nobler  race.     This  is  an  art, 
Which  does  mend  nature— change  it  rather;  but 
The  art  itself  is  nature." 

The  bases  of  the  arts  touch  each  other,  and  the  same 
fundamental  principle  presides  over  all.  History  deli- 
neated on  canvas,  and  eloquence  speaking  from  the 
printed  page  or  fervid  lips,  are  governed  by  the  same 
general  rules.  Burke,  who  best  felt  and  in  a  good  de- 
gree exemplified  this  truth,  said,  "  The  painter  who 
wishes  to  make  his  pictures  (what  fine  pictures  ought 
to  be),  nature  elevated  and  improved,  must  first  gam  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  nature  as  she  is  :  before  he  makes 
men  as  they  ought  to  be,  he  must  know  how  to  make 
them  as  they  are  ;  he  must  acquire  an  accurate  know- 
ledge of  all  the  parts  of  the  body  and  countenance.  To 
know  anatomy  will  be  of  little  use,  unless  physiology 
and  physiognomy  are  joined  to  it."  Again — 

"Works  of  real  merit  are  produced  by  a  laborious 


422  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    A   MERICA. 

and  accurate  investigation  of  nature  upon  the  princi- 
ples observed  by  the  Greeks — first,  to  make  themselves 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  common  forms  of  na- 
ture, and  then,  by  selecting  and  combining,  to  form 
compositions  according  to  their  own  elevated  concep- 
tions. 

"  This  is  the  true  principle  of  poetry  and  painting. 
Homer  and  Shakspeare  had  perhaps  never  seen  charac- 
ters so  strongly  marked  as  Achilles  and  Lady  Macbeth, 
and  yet  we  feel  those  characters  are  drawn  from  nature ; 
the  limbs  and  features  are  those  of  common  nature,  but 
elevated  and  improved!" 

The  greatest  masters  have  one  great  decided  beauty 
in  their  works.  Their  figures,  whether  in  action,  or 
repose,  or  expression,  always  appear  to  be  the  uncon- 
scious agents  of  an  impulsion  they  cannot  help ;  the 
spectator  is  never  drawn  aside  from  what  they  are 
doing  by  any  artificial  ness  in  them,  as  if  they  labored 
most  to  show  how  grand  or  graceful  they  are.  They 
seem  impelled  by  an  impulse  they  cannot  control ;  their 
heads,  hands,  feet,  and  bodies,  instinctively  put  them- 
selves into  positions  the  best  adapted  to  execute  the 
spontaneous  intentions  of  the  mind.  All  studied  grace 
is  unnatural,  as.  is  seen  in  children  who  are  naturally 
graceful  until  they  learn  to  dance. 

True  genius  is  geniality,  a  power  universally  felt, 
though  happily  expressed  but  by  few.  Its  voice  is  al- 
ways recognized,  and  its  humblest  whisper  is  heard  wide 
over  all  the  world  in  a  thousand  thrilling  airs.  This 
spirit  of  genuine  eloquence  is  not  the  work  of  intellect 
merely,  but  the  finer  breath  of  the  soul,  roused  and  radi- 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  423 

ant  with  the  hopes,  fears,  and  joys  wnich  lend  this  mor- 
tal life  its  greatest  passion  and  power.  Thus  Cowper 
through  his  "  Task,"  Burns  through  his  ballads,  and 
Corwin  through  his  popular  addresses,  find  an  immedi- 
ate echo  in  every  human  bosom,  because  they  indite 
things  pertaining  to  humanity  in  a  human  manner. 
Their  meaning  always  dwells  in  their  language,  in  secret 
sanctity  and  unobscured  charms,  "like  a  golden  toy  mid 
Beauty's  orbed  bosom,"  and  vet,  simple  as  are  the  words, 
from  the  innate  nobility  of  the  ideas,  how  gracefully 
dignified  are  the  sentiments,  how  powerful  in  their  in- 
fluence on  both  head  and  heart.  Therein  is  most 
strikingly  verified  the  saying,  that  "  One  touch  of  Nature 
makes  the  world  of  kin."  The  highest  types  of  charac- 
ter are  always  marked  by  honest,  unpretending,  manly 
simplicity  of  genius,  and  habits  of  life,  which  not  only 
excite  admiration,  but  confidence  and  love.  True 
power  is  always  real,  and  not  artificial.  When  men 
labor  hard  to  appear  like  simple,  humble,  and  honest 
people,  their  affectation  immediately  betrays  the  paucity 
of  their  talents  and  the  hypocrisy  of  their  purpose. 
The  result  is  something  which,  as  Ninon  de  1'Enclos 
said  of  the  young  Marquis  de  Sevigne,  has  very  much 
the  character  of  fricasseed  snow,  and  is  utterly  destruc- 
tive of  all  effective  eloquence.  In  the  following  lines, 
Faust  gives  excellent  counsel  to  every  public  speaker  : 

"Good  sense  and  truth  are  good  enough  for  men. 
Hast  anything  to  say  ?    Out  with  it,  then  ! 
And  the  more  natural  the  style,  the  better. 
Your  pompous  words,  your  phrases  nicely  join'd, 
Will  find  the  people  deaf  as  any  adder 


424  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AM  iRICA. 

They're  but  dry  leaves,  that  rustle  in  the  wind, 
No  comfcrt  for  the  soul ; — peas  in  a  bladder." 

We  have  said  that  the  mind  of  Mr.  Corwin  is  neither 
sophisticated  by  pedantry,  nor  shackled  by  prejudice ; 
we  remark,  thirdly,  that  it  is  eminently  unterrified  by 
power.  His  mental  independence  is  his  most  prominent 
trait.  It  was  this  that  early  and  rapidly  led  him  to  dis- 
tinction. He  did  not  wait  for  the  pedantic  routine 
usually  deemed  indispensable  for  admission  to  the  temple 
of  fame,  but  boldly  forged  his  own  keys,  entered,  and  at 
once  took  possession  of  a  conspicuous  niche.  From 
the  outset  he  scorned  to  appear  as  the  tame  imitator  of 
the  veterans-  he  encountered,  but  was  first  their  mag- 
nanimous emulator,  and  then  speedily  a  triumphant  rival. 
Mr.  Corwin  is  habitually  neither  fawning  nor  fierce  ;  he 
is  true.  In  his  speech,  there  is  never  arrogant  assump 
tion,  no  flourish  of  trumpets  as  if  to  introduce  some- 
thing splendid,  but  all  is  calmly  resolute  and  moves  on  in 
an  easy,  natural  course.  It  is  a  style  which  tends  to  ex- 
cite healthfully  and  purify  our  common  human  nature 
and  elevate  it,  by  working  on  the  instincts  and  tenden- 
cies co-extensive  with  the  race.  He  bears  a  transparent 
bosom,  is  courteous  to  all  adversaries,  but  never  fails  to 
call  things  by  their  right  names.  Most  orators  are  people 
who  talk,  and  not  prophets  divinely  inspired.  But  true 
eloquence  is  not  a  body  merely  ;  it  is  a  soul  so  vital  and 
creative,  that  it  does  not  so  much  take  a  form  as  make 
one,  and  adorns  the  world  it  has  come  to  move.  It  is 
the  pungent  expression  of  those  thoughts  to  which  the 
universe  is  nearest  allied,  and  most  clearly  celebrates, 
not  in  symbols  only  but  substance,  n^it  in  showy  forms 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  425 

but  serene  al mightiness.  Every  sentiment  and  the  lan- 
guage in  which  it  is  clothed,  is  fresh  as  a  new  morn, 
grand  like  the  soul  whence  it  arose,  and  luminous  as  the 
meridian  sun. 

We  will  here  present  some  specimens  which  will  ex- 
emplify the  three  points  mentioned  above,  in  the  analy- 
sis of  Mr.  Corwin's  mind.  The  first  abounds  in  pure 
wit,  and  occurs  in  the  author's  vindication  of  the  ven- 
erated Harrison  from  the  attack  of  Gen.  Crary,  of  Mich- 
igan. That  gentleman,  on  the  14th  of  February,  1840, 
in  a  debate  on  the  Cumberland  Road  in  Congress,  seized 
the  occasion  to  enlighten  mankind  with  his  views  of 
Gen.  Harrison's  deficiencies  as  a  military  commander, 
his  mistakes  at  Tippecanoe,  &c.  &c.  &c.  Mr.  Corwin 
replied  in  a  torrent  of  humor,  sarcasm,  and  ridicule,  which 
completely  overwhelmed  his  victim,  and  led  John 
Quincy  Adams  a  few  days  after  to  refer  to  him  as 
"  the  late  Mr.  Crary."  The  following  passage  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  scathing  wit  which  prevails  through 
the  whole  speech : 

"In  all  other  countries,  and  in  all  former  times,  a  gen- 
tleman who  would  either  speak  or  be  listened  to  on  the 
subject  of  war,  involving  subtle  criticisms  and  strategy, 
and  careful  reviews  of  marches,  sieges,  battles,  regular 
and  casual,  and  irregular  onslaughts,  would  be  required 
to  show,  first,  that  he  had  studied  much,  investigated 
fully,  and  digested  the  science  and  history  of  his  subject. 
But  here,  sir,  no  such  painful  preparation  is  required  :  wit- 
ness the  gentleman  from  Michigan  !  He  has  announced 
to  the  House  that  he  is  a  militia  general  on  the  peace 
establishment !  That  he  is  a  lawyer  we  know,  tolerably 


426  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

well  read  in  Tidd's  Practice  and  Aspinasse's  Nisi  Prius 
These  studies,  so  happily  adapted  to  the  subject  of  war, 
with  an  appointment  in  the  militia  in  time  of  peace,  fur- 
nish him  at  once  with  all  the  knowledge  necessary  to 
discourse  to  us,  as  from  high  authority,  upon  all  the  mys- 
teries of  the  '  trade  of  death. '  Again,  Mr.  Speaker,  it  must 
occur  to  every  one,  that  we,  to  whom  these  questions  are 
submitted  and  these  military  criticisms  are  addressed,  be 
ing  all  colonels  at  least,  and  most  of  us,  like  the  gentle- 
man himself,  brigadiers,  are,  of  all  conceivable  tribunals, 
best  qualified  to  decide  any  nice  points  connected  with 
military  science.  I  hope  the  House  will  not  be  alarmed 
with  the  impression  that  I  am  about  to  discuss  one  or 
the  other  of  the  military  questions  now  before  us  at  length, 
but  I  wish  to  submit  a  remark  or  two,  by  way  of  prepar- 
ing us  for  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  merits  of  the  dis- 
course we  have  heard.  I  trust  as  we  are  all  brother-of- 
ficers, that  the  gentleman  from  Michigan,  and  the  two 
hundred  and  forty  colonels  or  generals  of  this  honorable 
House,  will  receive  what  I  have  to  say  as  coming  from 
an  old  brother  in  arms,  and  addressed  to  them  in  a  spirit 
of  candor, 

'Such  as  becometh  comrades  free, 
Reposing  after  victory. ' 

"Sir,  we  all  know  the  military  studies  of  the  military 
gentleman  from  Michigan  before  he  was  promoted.  I 
take  it  to  be  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  that  he  had  pe- 
rused with  great  care  the  title-page  of  'Baron  Steuben.' 
Nay,  I  go  further ;  as  the  gentleman  has  incidentally  as- 
sured us  that  he  is  prone  to  look  into  musty  and  neglected 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  427 

volumes,  I  venture  to  assert,  without  vouching  in  the  least 
from  personal  knowledge,  that  he  has  prosecuted  his  re- 
searches so  far  as  to  be  able  to  know  that  the  rear 
rank  stands  right  behind  the  front.  This  I  think  is  fairly 
inferable  from  what  I  understood  him  to  say  of  the  two 
lines  of  encampment  at  Tippecanoe.  Thus  we  see,  Mr. 
Speaker,  that  the  gentleman  from  Michigan,  being  a 
militia  general,  as  he  has  told  us,  his  brother  officers,  in 
that  simple  statement  has  revealed  the  glorious  history 
of  toils,  privations,  sacrifices,  and  bloody  scenes,  through 
which,  we  know  from  experience  and  observation,  a 
militia  officer,  in  time  of  peace,  is  sure  to  pass.  We  all 
in  fancy,  now  see  the  gentleman  from  Michigan  in  that 
most  dangerous  and  glorious  event  in  the  life  of  a  militia 
general  on  the  peace  establishment — a  parade  day !  That 
day,  for  which  all  the  other  days  of  his  life  seem  to  have 
been  made.  We  can  see  the  troops  in  motion — umbrellas, 
hoes,  and  axe  handles,  and  other  like  deadly  implements 
of  war,  overshadowing  all  the  field :  when,  lo !  the  leader 
of  the  host  approaches ! 

'  Far  off  his  coming  shines : ' 

"  His  plume  which,  after  the  fashion  of  the  great  Bour- 
bon, is  of  awful  length,  and  reads  its  doleful  history  in  the 
bereaved  necks  and  bosoms  of  forty  neighboring  hen- 
roosts. Like  the  great  SuwarofF,  he  seems  somewhat 
careless  in  forms  or  points  of  dress ;  hence  his  epaulettes 
may  be  on  his  shoulders,  back,  or  sides,  but  still 
gleaming,  gloriously  gleaming,  in  the  sun.  Mounted  he 
is,  too,  let  it  not  be  forgotten.  Need  I  describe  to  the 
colonels  and  generals  of  this  honorable  House,  the  steed 


428  LIVING    (.RATORd    IN    AMERICA. 

which  heroes  bestride  on  these  occasions?  No !  1  see 
the  memory  of  other  days  is  with  you.  You  see  before 
you  the  gentleman  from  Michigan,  mounted  on  his  crop- 
eared,  bushy-tailed  mare,  the  singular  obliquity  of 
whose  hinder  limbs  is  best  described  by  that  most 
expressive  phrase,  '  sickle  hams' — for  height  just  four- 
teen hands,  '  all  told ;'  yes,  sir :  there  you  see  his 
'steed  that  laughs  at  the  shaking  of  the  spear;'  that 
is  his  war  horse  '  whose  neck  is  clothed  with  thunder.' 
Mr.  Speaker,  we  have  glowing  descriptions  in  history 
of  Alexander  the  Great  and  his  war-horse  Bucephalus, 
at  the  head  of  the  invincible  Macedonian  phalanx;  but, 
sir,  such  are  the  improvements  of  modern  times  that 
every  one  must  see  that  our  militia  general,  with  his  crop- 
eared  mare,  with  bushy  tail  and  sickle  ham,  would 
totally  frighten  off  a  battle-field  a  hundred  Alexanders. 
But,  sir,  to  the  history  of  the  parade-day.  The  general, 
thus  mounted  and  equipped,  is  in  the  field,  and  ready  for 
action.  On  the  eve  of  some  desperate  enterprise,  such 
as  giving  order  to  shoulder  arms,  it  may  be,  there  occurs 
a  crisis,  one  of  those  accidents  of  war,  which  no  sagacity 
could  foresee  nor  prevent.  A  cloud  rises  and  passes 
over  the  sun  !  Here  is  an  occasion  for  the  display  of 
that  greatest  of  all  traits  in  the  history  of  a  commander — 
the  tact  which  enables  him  to  seize  upon  and  turn  to  good 
account  unlocked  for  events  as  they  arise.  Now  for 
the  caution  wherewith  the  Roman  Fabius  foiled  the 
skill  and  courage  of  Hannibal !  A  retreat  is  ordered, 
and  troops  and  general,  in  a  twinkling,  are  found  safely 
bivouacked  in  a  neighboring  grocery.  But  even  here 
the  general  still  has  room  for  the  execution  of  heroic 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  420 

deeds.  Hot  from  the  field,  and  chafed  with  the  heroic 
events  of  the  day,  your  general  unsheathes  his  trenchant 
blade,  eighteen  inches  in  length,  as  you  will  remember, 
and  with  energy  and  remorseless  fury  he  slices  the 
water-melons  that  lie  in  heaps  around  him,  and  shares 
them  with  his  surviving  friends.  Others  of  the  sinews 
of  war  are  not  wanting  here.  Whiskey,  Mr.  Speaker, 
that  great  leveller  of  modern  times,  is  here  also,  and  the 
shells  of  the  water-melons  are  filled  to  the  brim.  Here 
again,  Mr.  Speaker,  is  shown  how  the  extremes  of  bar- 
barism and  civilization  meet.  As  the  Scandinavian 
heroes  of  old,  after  the  fatigues  of  war,  drank  wine  from 
the  skulls  of  their  slaughtered  enemies,  in  Odin's  halls, 
so  now  our  militia  general  and  his  forces,  from  the 
skulls  of  the  melons  thus  vanquished,  in  copious  draughts 
of  whiskey  assuage  the  heroic  fire  of  their  souls,  after  a 
parade-day.  But,  alas  for  this  short-lived  race  of  ours  ! 
all  things  will  have  an  end,  and  so  it  is  even  with 
the  glorious  achievements  of  our  general.  Time  is  on 
the  wing,  and  will  not  stay  his  flight;  the  sun,  as  if 
frightened  at  the  mighty  events  of  the  day,  rides  down 
the  sky,  and  '  at  the  close  of  the  day,  when  the  hamlet 
is  still,'  the  curtain  of  night  drops  upon  the  scene, 

'  And  Glory,  like  the  phoenix  in  its  fires, 
Exhales  its  odors,  blazes  and  expires.'  " 

To  this  we  may  subjoin  an  extract  which  exemplifies 
the  effective  combination  of  severe  attributes  with  the 
lighter  graces  of  oratory.  Oratorical  power  of  the  first 
order  exists  only  when  the  serious  and  the  sportive  are 
symmetrically  joined.  In  suci  a  consummation,  as 


430  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

in  the  bard  of  Avon,  we  find  a  strong,  unostentatious 
master,  who  is  able,  with,  perfect  ease  and  certainty, 
without  formal  reasoning,  subtilizing  and  classifying  his 
ideas,  to  seize  with  confident  hand,  whatever  is  true  01 
false  in  man,  and  express  it  in  a  manner  the  most  natural, 
forcible,  and  just.  His  attitudes,  motions,  and  sentiments 
will  be  graceful  and  effective,  because  they  are  poised  by 
nature  and  impelled  by  truth.  Fresh  as  a  spouting 
spring  among  the  hills,  his  heart  leaps  out  to  life,  and  his 
accents  are  everywhere  greeted  with  delight,  because  he 
speaks  the  world's  one  tongue.  What  he  utters  is  of 
"nature's  flow  not  art's;  a  fountain's^  not  a  pump's." 

No  man  can  long  command  an  attentive  hearing,  who 
has  not  the  power  of  captivating  the  imagination.  This 
he  will  best  accomplish  by  commingling  an  official, 
elaborated,  Ciceronian,  admirative  style,  with  one  more 
conversational,  anecdotical,  and  jocular.  The  aggregate 
will  be  conceived  and  fashioned  according  to  popular 
ideas  and  tastes,  and  speaks  at  once  to  the  senses  and 
understandings  of  the  great  commonality.  Such  a  style 
assumes  a  lyric  flexibility,  and  becomes  the  very  mirror 
and  echo  of  the  human  soul.  The  charm  arises  not  so 
much  from  the  originality  inherent  in  eternal  ideas,  as 
from  the  simple  earnestness  they  develop,  the  exalted 
sentiments  they  breathe,  and  the  exquisite  naturalness  of 
their  expression.  No  composition  can  be  beautiful  or 
natural  without  variety,  or  even  without  contrast ;  but 
care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  variety  from  degenerating 
into  inconsistency,  and  contrast  into  contradiction. 
With  this  precaution  each  distinguished  part  will  make 
a  separate  impression,  and  while  all  bear  the  same  stamp, 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  431 

concurring  towards  the  same  end,  every  portion  is  an 
additional  support  and  adornment  to  the  prevailing  idea. 
Such  alternations  of  smoothness  and  ruggedness,  form- 
ing a  picturesque  naturalness  of  style,  affects  an  audience 
much  like  the  excitement  produced  by  the  intricacies  of 
wild  romantic  mountainous  scenes,  wherein  curiosity, 
while  it  prompts  us  to  scale  every  rocky  promontory, 
and  explore  every  new  recess,  by  its  salubrious  exercise 
keeps  the  fibres  of  the  body  excited  to  their  full  tone, 
and  the  mind  perpetually  on  the  stretch.  Thus  exer- 
cised, the  enraptured  observer  drinks  in  all  that  in  na- 
ture is  brilliant  or  pure,  all  that  in  feeling  is  sacred 
or  sublime.  This  in  turn  produces  eloquence,  which  no 
more  palls  on  the  popular  taste,  than  the  mountainous 
billows  of  the  sea  in  their  playfulness  grow  weary  of 
the  wind.  It  is  this  coquetry  of  nature  which  makes 
her  beauty  more  amusing,  more  varied,  and  more  playful, 
but  also  not "  less  winning  soft,  less  amiably  mild."  It  is 
the  spirit  of  mightiest  conquests,  as  attractive  as  it  is 
potent : 

"  Like  the  blush  of  love  upon  the  cheek, 
Or  the  full  feeling  lightening  through  the  eye, 
Or  the  quick  music  in  the  chords  of  harps." 

But  to  the  extracts  we  promised.  The  following  are 
from  the  great  speech  against  the  Compromise  Bill, 
which  Mr.  Corwin  delivered  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, July  24th,  1848 ;  and  which  the  reporter  said  "  swept 
like  a  consuming  fire  through  the  dry  grass,  under  a  high 
wind,  destroying  in  its  flames  arguments,  appeals,  au- 
thorities, compromises — .easing  the  whole  question  in  the 


432  LIVING    OEATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

naked  form  of  the  admission  or  exclusion  of  slavery." 
We  have  to  regret  that  our  limits  will  not  admit  the 
whole  production. 

"  You  say  this  land  was  conquered  by  the  common 
blood  of  the  country ;  you  trace  back  the  consideration 
which  you  have  paid  for  this  country  to  the  blood  and 
the  bones  of  the  gallant  men  that  you  sent  there  to  be 
sacrificed ;  and  pointing  to  the  unburied  corpses  of  her 
sons  who  have  fallen  there,  the  South  exclaims: 
'  These — these  constitute  my  title  to  carry  my  slaves  to 
that  land  !  It  was  purchased  by  the  blood  of  my  sons.' 
The  aged  parent,  bereft  of  his  children,  and  the  widow 
with  the  family  that  remains,  desire  to  go  there  to  bet- 
ter their  fortunes,  if  it  may  be,  and  pointing  to  the 
graves  of  husband  and  children,  exclaim :  '  There — there 
was  the  price  paid  for  our  proportion  of  this  territory !' 
Is  that  true  ?  If  that  could  be  made  out — if  you  dare  put 
that  upon  your  record — if  you  can  assert  that  you  hold 
the  country  by  the  strong  hand,  then  you  have  a  right 
to  go  there  with  your  slaves.  If  we  of  the  North  have 
united  with  you  of  the  South  in  this  expedition  of  piracy, 
and  robbery,  and  murder,  that  oldest  law  known  among 
men — '  honor  among  thieves' — requires  us  to  divide  it 
with  you  equally.  [Laughter  and  subdued  applause.] 
Nay,  more,  it  is  only  a  fitting  finale  to  that  infernal 
tragedy,  that  after  having  slaughtered  fifty  thousand  hu- 
man beings,  in  order  to  extend  your  authority  over  these 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  the  murder  should  be 
followed  by  the  slavery  of  every  one  that  can  be  made 
subject  to  the  law  of  power. 
"Sir,  if  it  be  true  that  you  hold  this  territory  by  con- 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  433 

quest,  you  hold  it  precisely  by  the  same  right  that  the 
Virginian  holds  his  slave  to-day,  and  by  no  other.  You 
have  stolen  the  man,  and  with  the  strong  hand  torn  him 
from  his  own  home— part  of  his  family  you  have  killed, 
and  the  rest  you  have  bound  in  chains  and  brought  to 
Virginia!  Then,  in  accordance  with  the  brand  which 
it  seems  the  Almighty  has.  impressed  upon  poor  woman 
—partus  sequitur  ventrem—you  condemn  to  Slavery,  to 
the  remotest  posterity,  the  offspring  of  your  captive! 
It  is  the  same  right  originally  in  both  cases.  This  right 
of  conquest  is  the  same  as  that  by  which  a  man  may 
hold  another  in  bondage.  You  may  make  it  into  a  law 
if  you  please :  you  may  enact  that  it  may  be  so :  it  may 
be  convenient  to  do  so  :  after  perpetrating  the  original 
sin,  it  may  be  better  to  do  so.  But  the  case  is  not  aT- 
tered ;  the  source  of  the  right  remains  unchanged. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  the  old  Roman  word  Servus  ? 
I  profess  no  great  skill  in  philological  learning,  but  I  can 
very  well  conceive  how  somebody  looking  into  this 
thing,  might  understand  what  was  the  law  in  those  days. 
The  man's  life  was  saved  when  his  enemy  conquered 
hini  in  battle.  He  became  servus — the  man  preserved 
by  his  magnanimous  foe ;  and  perpetual  slavery  was  then 
thought  to  be  a  boon  preferable  to  death.  That  wag  the 
way  in  which  slavery  began.  Has  anybody  found  out  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  a  man  fool  enough  to  give  himself  up 
to  another,  and  beg  him  to  make  him  his  slave  ?  I  do  not 
know  of  one  such  instance  under  heaven.  Yet  it  may 
be  so.  Still  I  think  that  not  one  man  of  my  complexion 
of  the  Caucasian  race  could  be  found  quite  willing  to  do 
that! 

19 


434  LIVING  ORATORS    OF    AMERICA. 

"  This  right,  which  you  are  now  asserting  to  .his  coun- 
try, exists  in  no  other  foundation  than  the  law  of  force, 
and  that  -was  the  original  law  by  which  one  man  appro- 
priated the  services  and  will  of  another  to  himself.  Thus 
far  we  have  been  brought  after  having  fought  for  this 
country  and  conquered  it.  The  solemn  appeal  is  made 
to  us — '  Have  we  not  mingled  our  blood  with  yours  in. 
acquiring  this  country  ?'  Sure,  my  brother !  But  did 
we  mingle  our  blood  with  yours  for  the  purpose  of  wresi- 
ing  this  country  by  force  from  this  people  ?  That  is  the 
question.  You  did  not  say  so  six  months  ago.  You 
dare  not  say  so  now ! 

"  You  may  say  that  it  was  purchased,  as  Louisiana  or 
as  Florida  was,  with  the  common  treasure  of  the  coun- 
try ;.and  then  we  come  to  the  discussion  of  another  pro- 
position :  What  right  do  you  acquire  to  establish  slave- 
ry there  ?  But  I  was  about  to  ask  of  some  gentleman — 
the  Senator  from  S.  C.  for  instance,  whose  eye  at 
a  glance  has  comprehended  almost  the  history  of  the 
world— what  he  supposes  will  be  the  history  of  this,  onr 
Mexican  war,  and  these  our  Mexican  acquisitions,  if 
we  should  give  it  the  direction  which  he  desires?  I  do 
not  speak  of  the  propriety  of  slave  labor  being  carried 
anywhere.  I  will  waive  that  question  entirely.  What 
is  it  of  which  the  Senator  from  Vermont  has  told  us  this 
morning,  and  of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  during 
the  last  three  weeks  ?  Every  gale  that  floats  across  the 
Atlantic  comes  freighted  with  the  death  groans  of  a 
King;  every  vessel  that  touches  our  shores  bears  with 
her  tidings  that  the  captives  of  the  Old  World  are  at 
iast  becoming  free — that  they  are  seeking,  through  blood 

V 


THOMAS     JORWIN.  435 

and  slaughter — blindly  and  madly,  it  may  be,  but  never- 
theless resolutely — deliverance  from  the  fetters  that 
have  held  them  in  bondage.  Who  are  they?  The 
whole  of  Europe.  And  it  is  only  about  a  year  ago,  I 
believe,  that  that  officer  of  the  Turkish  Empire  who 
holds  sway  in  Tunis,  one  of  the  old  slave  markets  of  the 
world,  whose  prisons  formerly  received  those  of  our  peo- 
ple taken  upon  the  high  seas  and  made  slaves  to  their 
captors — announced  to  the  world  that  everybody  should 
there  be  free.  And,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  will  be 
found  that  this  magic  line  which  the  Senator  from  S.  C. 
believes  has  been  drawn  around  the  globe  which  we  in- 
habit, with  the  vtew  of  separating  Freedom  and  Slave- 
ry— 36°  30,  brings  this  very  Tunis  into  that  region  in 
which  by  the  ordinance  of  God  men  are  to  be  .held  in 
bondage!  All  over  the  world  the  air  is  vocal  with  the 
shouts  of  men  made  free.  .What  does  it  all  mean  ?  It 
means  that  they  have  been  redeemed  from  political  ser- 
vitude ;  and  in  God's  name  I  ask,  if  it  be  a  boon  to  man- 
kind to  be  free  from  political  servitude,  must  it  not  be 
accepted  as  a  matter  of  some  gratulation  that  they  have 
been  relieved  from  absolute  subjection  to  the  arbitrary 
power  of  others  ?  What  do  we  say  of  them  ?  I  am 
not  speaking  of  the  propriety  of  this  thing  ;  it  may  be  all 
wrong,  and  these  poor  fellows  in  Paris,  who  have  stout 
hands  and  willing  hearts;  anxious  to  earn  their  bread, 
may  be  very  comfortable  in  fighting  for  it.  It  may  be 
all  wrong  to  cut  off  the  head  of  a  King  or  send  him 
across  the  Channel.  The  problem  of  Free  Government, 
as  we  call  it,  is  not,  it  seems,  yet  solved.  It  may  be 
highly  improper  and  foolish  in  Austria  and  Germany  to 


436  LIVING     ORATOR3    IN    AMERICA. 

send  away  Metternich  and  say,  '  We  will  look  unto  this 
business  ourselves.'  According  to  the  doctrine  preached 
in  these  halls — -in  free  America — instead  of  sending 
shouts  of  congratulation  across  the  water  to  these  people, 
we  should  send  to  them  groans  and  commiseration  for 
their  folly,  calling  on  them  to  beware  how  they  take  this 
business  into  their  own  hands — informing  them  that 
universal  liberty  is  a  curse ;  that  as  one  man  is  born 
with  a  right  to  govern  an  Empire,  he  and  his  posterity 
(as  Louis  Philippe  of  Orleans  maintained  when  he  an- 
nounced that  his  son  should  sit  on  the  throne  when  he 
left  it)  must  continue  to  exercise  that  power,  because  in 
their  case  it  is  not  exactly  partes  sequitur  ventrum, 
but  partes  sequitur  pater — that  is  all  the  difference. 
[Laughter.]  The  Crown  follows  the  father!  Under 
your  law  the  chain  follows  the  mother!  [Subdued 
manifestations  of  feeling.] 

"  It  was  a  law  in  the  Colonies  about  '76  that  Kings 
had  a  right  to  govern  us.  George  Guelph  then  said 
'  partes  sequitur  par — My  son  is  born  to  be  your  ruler. 
And  at  the  very  time  when  Virginia  lifted  up  her  hand 
and  appealed  to  the  God  of  justice — the  common  father 
of  all  men — to  deliver  her  from  that  accursed  maxirn  and 
its  consequences,  that  one  man  was  born — as  Jefferson 
said — booted  and  spurred  to  ride  another,  it  seems  that 
by  the  Senator's  account  of  it,  she  adhered  to  another 
maxim,  to  wit :  that  another  man  should  be  born  to  serve 
Virginia.  I  think  this  maxim  of  Kings  being  born  to 
rule,  and  others  being  born  only  to  serve,  are  both  of 
the  same  family,  and  ought  to  have  gone  down  to  the 
same  place ;  hence,  I  imagine,  they  came,  long  ago,  to- 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  437 

gether.  I  do  not  think  that  your  partus  sequitur  ven- 
trem  had  much  quarter  shown  it  at  Yorktown  on  a  cer- 
tain day  you  may  remember.  I  think  that  when  the 
lion  of  England  crawled  in  the  dust,  beneath  the  talons 
of  your  eagles,  and  Cornwallis  surrendered  to  George 
Washington,  that  maxim,  that  a  man  is  born  to  rule, 
went  down,  not  to  be  seen  among  us  again  forever,  and 
I  think  that  partus  sequitur  ventrem,  in  the  estimation  of 
all  sensible  men,  disappeared  along  with  it.  So  the  men 
of  that  day  thought.  And  we  are  thus  brought  to  the 
consideration  of  the  proper  interpretation  of  that  lan- 
guage of  those  men  which  has  been  somewhat  criticized 
by  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina.  What  did  they 
mean  when  they  said  in  the  Declaration  oi*  Independ- 
ence, that  all  men  are  born  equally  free?  They  had 
been  contending  that,  if  we  on  this  side  of  the  water 
were  to  be  taxed  by  the  Imperial  Parliament  of  England, 
we  had  a  right  to  say  who  should  represent  us  in  that 
Parliament.  I  need  not  refer  gentlemen  to  the  argu- 
ments then  advanced.  I  need  not  refer  the  Senator 
from  Virginia  to  his  own  local  history,  which  informs 
him  that,  throughout  the  whole  Revolutionary  period, 
the  people  in  all  the  shires  and  towns  were  meeting  and 
passing  resolutions,  as  that  book  of  American  Archives 
that  you  have  authorized  to  be  perpetuated,  will  show 
you,  complaining  to  the  Crown  of  England  of  the  im 
portation  of  slaves  into  this  country.  And  why  did  they 
complain  ?  Let  their  own  documents  tell  their  own  story 
Then  men  in  that  generation,  in  Virginia,  in  Connecti 
cut — as  the  Senator  before  me  will  see  by  referring  tc 
that  book  in  MS. — everywhere  throughout  the  Colo- 


438  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

nies,  said — '  While  we  are  contending  for  the  common 
rights  of  humanity,  against  the  Crown  of  England,  it  does 
not  become  us  to  enslave  men  and  hold  them  in  slavery.' 
They  objected  to  the  introduction  of  slaves  into  this 
country  through  the  intervention  of  the  slave-trade,  be- 
cause it  was  a  wrong  perpetrated  upon  the  slave  himself, 
and  especially  because  it  prevented  the  settlement  of  the 
country  by  artizans,  mechanics,  and  laboring  husband- 
men. I  venture  the  assertion  that  not  three  counties  in 
the  State  of  Virginia  can  be  named  in  which  resolutions 
of  that  character  were  not  passed. 

"  In  1784,  not  far  from  this  Capitol,  where  we  are  now 
engaged  in  talking  about  the  transfer  of  the  slave-trade 
to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  there  was  a  meeting 
in  Fairfax,  at  which  one  George  Washington,  Esq.,  pre- 
sided. Some  young  gentlemen  may  know  something  of 
him.  He  was  a  tobacco-planter,  sir,  at  Mount  Vernon. 
The  resolutions  passed  on  that  occasion  declared  the  in- 
tention of  the  meeting  to  refrain  from  purchasing  any 
slaves,  and  their  determination  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  slave-trade — because  the  introduction  of  slaves 
into  this  country  prevented  its  settlement  by  free  whites. 
This,  then,  was  the  opinion  in  Virginia  at  that  time ;  and 
it  was  the  opinion  in  Georgia  too." 

Farther  on,  he  remarks  : 

"  Thank  God,  though  all  should  fail,  there  is  an  infalli- 
ble depository  of  truth,  and  it  lives  once  a  year  for  three 
months  in  a  little  Chamber,  below  us!  We  can  go 
there.  Now  I  understand  my  duty  here  to  be,  to  ascer- 
tain what  constitutional  power  we  have,  and  when  we 
have  ascertained  that,  without  reference  to  what  the  Su- 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  439 

preme  Court  may  do — for  they  have  yet  furnished  no 
guide  on  the  subject — we  are  to  take  it  for  granted  that 
they  will  concur  with  us  If  the  Court  does  not  concur 
with  us,  I  agree  with  gentlemen  who  have  been  so  lost  in 
their  encomiums  upon  that  Court,  that  their  decision 
whether  right  or  wrong,  controls  no  action.  But  we  have 
not  hitherto  endeavored  to  ascertain  what  the  Supreme 
Court  would  do.  I  wish  then  to  ascertain  in  what  mode 
this  wonderful  response  is  to  be  obtajned-^-not  from  that 
Delphic  Oracle,  but  from  that  infallible  divinity,  the  Su- 
preme Court.  How  is  it  to  be  done  ?  A  gentleman 
starts  from  Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  with  a  dozen  black 
men  who  have  been  paries  sequitur  ventrum  burnt  into 
their  skins  and  souls  all  over ;  he  takes  them  to  Califor- 
nia, three  thousand  miles  off.  Now  I  don't  know  hov/ 
it  may  be  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  but  I  know  that  in 
the  State  of  Ohio  it  is  ordained  that  the  law  is  carried  to 
every  man's  door.  What  then  is  the  admirable  contri- 
vance in  this  bill  by  which  we  can  get  at  the  meaning 
of  the  Constitution  ?  We  pray  for  it,  we  agonize  for  it, 
we  make  a  law  for  it,  and  that  it  may  be  speedily 
known — for,  if  not  speedily  known,  it  may  as  well  never 
be  known ;  if  slavery  goes  there  and  remains  there  for 
one  year,  according  to  all  experience,  it  is  eternally.  Let 
it  but.  plant  its  roots  there,  and  the  next  thing  you  will 
hear  of  will  be  the  earnest  appeals  about  the  rights  of 
property.  It  will  be  said  :  '  The  Senate  did  not  say  we 
had  no  right  to  come  here.  The  House  of  Representa- 
tives, a  body  of  gentlemen  elected  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  on  account  of  their  sagacity  and  legal  attain- 
ments, did  hot  prohibit  us  from  coming  here.  I  thought 


440  LIVINB  ORATORS    OF    AMERICA. 

I  had  a  right  to  come  here:  the  Senator  from  South 
Carolina  said  I  had  a  right  to  come ;  the  Hon.  Senator 
from  Georgia  said  I  had  a  right  to  come  here ;  his  col- 
leagues said  it  was  a  right  secured  to  me  somewhere 
high  up  in  the  clouds  and  not  belonging  to  the  world ; 
the  Senator  from  Mississippi  said  it  was  the  ordinance 
of  Almighty  God ;  am  I  not  then  to  enjoy  the  privileges 
thus  so  fully  secured  to  me  ?  I  have  property  here  ; 
several  of  my  women  have  borne  children,  who  have 
partus  sequitur  ventrem  born  with  them  ;  they  are  my 
property.'  Thus  the  appeal  will  be  made  to  their  fellow- 
citizens  around  them ;  and  it  will  be  asked,  whether  you 
are  prepared  to  strike  down  the  property  which  the  set- 
tler in  those  territories  lias  thus  acquired  ?  That  will 
be  t.he  case  unless  the  negro  from  Baltimore,  when  he 
gets  there  and  sees  the  Peons  there — slaves  not  by 
partus  sequitur  ventrem,  but  by  a  much  better  title — a 
verdict  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace — should  determine 
to  avail  himself  of  the  admirable  facilities  afforded  him 
by  this  bill  for  gaining  his  freedom. 

"  Suppose  my  friend  from  New  Hampshire  when  he 
goes  home,  gets  up  a  meeting  and  collects  a  fund  for  the 
purpose  of  sending  a  missionary  after  these  men  ;  and 
when  the  missionary  arrives  there  he  proposes  to  hold  a 
prayer  meeting,  he  gets  up  a  meeting  as  they  used  to  do 
in  Yankee  times,  'for  the  improvement  of  gifts.'  He 
goes  to  the  negro  quarter  of  this  gentleman  from  Balti- 
more, and  says :  '  Come,  I  want  brother  Cuffee ;  it  is  true 
he  is  a  son  of  Ham,  but  I  want  to  instruct  him  that  he 
is  free.'  I  am  very  much  inclined  to  think  that  the  mis- 
sionary would  fare  very  much  as  one  did  in  South  Caro- 

'•    - 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  41 J 

lina,  at  the  hands  of  him  of  Baltimore.  S;>,  you  see,  the 
negro  is  to  start  all  at  once  into  a  free  Anglo-Saxon  in 
California;  the  blood  of  Liberty  flowing  in  every  vein, 
and  its  divine  impulses  throbbing  in  his  heart.  He  is 
to  say  :  '  I  am  free  ;  I  am  a  Californian  ;  I  bring  the  right 
of  habeas  corpus  with  me.'  Well,  he  is  brought  up  on 
a  writ  of  habeas  corpus — before  whom  ?  Very  likely 
one  of  those  gentlemen  who  have  been  proclaiming  that 
slavery  has  a  right  to  go  there ;  for.  such  are  the  men 
that  Mr.  Polk  is  likely  to  appoint.  He  has  prejudged 
the  case.  On  the  faith  of  his  opinion  the  slave  has  been 
brought  there :  what  can  he  do?  There  is  his  recorded 
judgment  printed  in  your  Congressional  Report;  what 
will  he  say  ?  '  You  are  a  slave.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  right. 
Judge  Berrien,  of  Ga.,  a  profound  lawyer,  whom  I 
know  well,  was  right.  I  know  these  gentlemen  well? 
their  opinion  is  entitled  to  the  highest  authority,  and  in 
the  face  of  it,  it  does  not  become  me  to  say  that  you  are 
free.  So,  boy,  go  to  your  master ;  you  belong  to  the  class 
partus  sequitur  ventrem  :  you  are  not  quite  enough  of  a 
Saxon.'  What  then  is  to  be  done  by  this  bill  ?  Oh  !  a 
writ  of  error  or  appeal  can  come  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  How  ?  The  negro,  if  he  is  to  be 
treated  like  a  white,  taking  out  an  appeal,  must  give 
bonds  in  double  the  value  of  the  subject  matter  in  dis- 
pute. And  what  is  that  ?  If  you  consider  it  the  mer- 
cantile value  of  the  negro,  it  may  be  perhaps  $1,000  or 
$2,000.  But  he  cannot  have  the  appeal  according  to 
this  bill,  unless  the  value  of  the  thing  in  controversy 
amounts  to  the  value  of  $2,000.  But,  then,  there  comes 
in  this  ideality  of  personal  liberty:  what  is  it  worth? 
19*  * 


442  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Nothing  at  all — says  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina — 
to  this  fellow,  who  is  better  without  it.  And  under  all 
this  complexity  of  legal  quibbling  and  litigation,  it  is  ex- 
pected that  the  negro  will  stand  there  and  contend  with 
his  master,  and  coming  on  to  Washington,  will  prosecute 
his  appeal  two  years  before  the  Supreme  Court,  enjoy- 
ing the  opportunity  of  visiting  his  old  friends  about  Bal- 
timore!" 

One  more  quotation  from  this  admirable  speech  must 
suffice : — 

"  I  had  almost  believed,  after  hearing  the  beautiful, 
romantic,  sentimental  narration  of  the  Senator  from 
Mississippi;  that  God  had  indeed,  as  he  said,  made  this 
people  in  Africa  to  come  over  here  and  wait  upon  us, 
till  the  Senator  from  Florida  waked  me  up  to  a  recollec- 
tion of  the  old  doctrines  of  Washington  and  Jefferson, 
by  assuring  that  wherever  that  patriarchal  institution 
existed,  a  rigid  police  should  be  maintained,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  old  women  from  cutting  the  throats  of 
somebody!  It  is  then  a  very  'peculiar'  institution! 
Those  who  live  under  it  cannot  exist  a  day  without 
caresses  ;  and  on  the  next,  they  must  provide  scores 
of  constables  with  clubs  in  their  hands,  to  keep  them 
from  cutting  each  other's  throats ! 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  extend  that  institution  into  these 
Territories.  Is  it  pretended  that  Slave  labor  could  be 
profitable  in  Oregon  or  California.  Do  we  expect  to 
grow  cotton  and  sugar  there  ?  I  do  not  know  that  it 
may  not  be  done  there  ;  for  as  the  gentleman  from  New 
York  has  told  us,  just  as  you  go  west  upon  this  conti- 
nent, the  same  line  of  latitude  changes  very  much,  so 


THOMAS    CORWW.  443 

that  you  may  have  a  very  different  isothermal  line  as 
you  approach  the  Pacific  Ocean.  But  I  do  not  care  so 
much  about  that ;  my  objection  is  a  radical  one  to  the 
institution  everywhere.  I  do  believe,  if  there  is 
any  place  on  the  globe  which  we  inhabit  where  a  white 
man  cannot  work,  he  has  no  business  there.  If  that 
place  is  fit  only  for  black  men  to  work,  let  black  men 
alone  work  there.  I  do  not  know  any  better  law  for 
man's  good  than  that  old  one  which  was  announced  to 
man  after  the  first  transgression,  that  by  the  sweat  of 
his  brow  he  should  earn  his  bread.  I  don't  know  what 
business  men  have  in  the  world  unless  it  is  to  work.  If 
he  is  only  to  sleep  and  eat,  he  is  reduced  to  the  level  of 
the  hog — the  only  gentleman  I  know ! 

"  When  you  ask  me,  then,  not  to  prohibit  slavery  in 
these  territories,  with  my  view  of  the  institution  itself, 
and  of  our  power,  I  must  assert  the  power  to  exclude 
slavery  forever.  In  your  States  where  you  have  made 
slavery  property,  you  may  protect  it  as  you  please,  and 
I  will  aid  you  in  giving  it  that  security  which  the  Con- 
stitution affords ;  but,  with  God's  help,  not  one  inch 
beyond  shall  this  institution  go.  I  may  be  mistaken  in 
all  this  ;  but  of  one  thing  I  am  satisfied — of  the  honest 
conviction  of  my  own  judgment — and  no  supposed 
interruption  of  the  ties  which  bind  the  various  sections 
of  the  Confederacy  shall  induce  me  to  shrink  from 
these  convictions,  whenever  I  am  called  upon  to  carry 
them  out  into  law."  . 

Shakspeare  may  well  be  excused  for  seeking  in  the 
Roman  senate  what  he  knew  all  senates  could  furnish — 
a  buffoon.  By  this  remark,  we  do  not  imply  that  Mr 


444  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

Corwin  bears  that  character.  No  man  mingles  more 
dignity  with  his  wit,  and  no  one  can  be  more  courteous 
in  his  severity.  He  is  the  incarnation  of  humor  enno- 
bled by  reason,  and  more  than  any  other  orator  alive, 
abounds  in  those  happy  hits  that  "snatch  a  grace 
beyond  the  reach  of  art,"  as  in  the  froth  formed  on  the 
mouth  of  Jalysus'  hound  by  a  lucky  dash  from  the 
sponge  of  Protogenes.  His  productions  flow  with  a 
freedom  and  prodigality,  as  if  they  cost  him  nothing ; 
and  this  air  of  original  animation  is  attended  by  a  cor- 
respondent spirit  of  facile  but  accurate  execution. 
Such  properties  will  always  attract  attention,  and  com- 
mand admiration,  despite  palpable  faults.  It  is  of  neces- 
sity a  popular  style.  The  freedom  of  its  flow,  the 
vividness  of  its  colors,  and  energy  of  signification, 
contribute  to  excite  and  keep  alive  the  most  eager  in- 
terest. The  speaker  appears  to  have  perfect  confidence 
in  himself,  and  at  once  inspires  his  audience  with  the 
assured  expectation  of  being  regaled  with  both  novelty 
and  wisdom. 

The  subjoined  specimen  is  after  Mr.  -Corwin's  more 
dignified  and  classical  manner.  It  teems  with  the 
results  of  much  reading,  is  imbued  with  high  moral 
principle,  and  radiates  with  the  most  impressive  elo- 
quence. It  is  taken  from  an  early  and  famous  speech 
he  made  in  the  Senate  on  the  Mexican  war : — 

"Mr.  President,  this  uneasy  desire  to  augment  our 

territory  has  deprared  the  moral  sense,  and  blighted  the 

otherwise  keen  sagacity  of  our  people.     What  has  been 

the  fate  of  all  nations  who  have  acted  upon  the  idea 

they  must  advance  ?     Our  young  orators  cherish 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  445 

this  notion  with  a  fervid,  but  fatally  mistaken  zeal.— 
They  call  it  by  the  mysterious  name  of '  destiny.'  '  Our 
destiny/  they  say,  '  is  onward  ;'  and  hence  they  argue, 
with  ready  sophistry,  the  propriety  of  seizing  upon  any 
territory  and  any  people,  that  may  lie  in  the  way  of  our 
*  fated'  advance.  Recently  these  progressives  have 
grown  classical ;  some  assiduous  student  of  antiquities 
has  helped  them  to  a  patron  saint.  They  have  wan- 
dered back  into  the  desolated  Pantheon,  and  there, 
among  the  Polytheistic  relics  of  that  '  pale  mother  of 
dead  empires,'  they  have  found  a  god,  whom  these  Ro- 
mans, centuries  gone  by,  baptized  '  Terminus.' 

"  Sir,  I  have  read  much,  and  heard  somewhat  of  this 
gentleman, 'Terminus.  Alexander,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  was  a  devotee  of  this  divinity.  We  have  seen 
the  end  of  him  and  his  empire.  It  was  said  to  be  an 
attribute  of  this  god,  that  he  must  always  advance  and 
never  recede.  So  both  republican  and  imperial  Rome 
believed.  It  was,  as  they  said,  their  destiny  ;  and  for  a 
while  it  did  seem  to  be  even  so.  Roman  Terminus  did 
advance.  Under  the  eagles  of  Rome,  he  was  carried 
from  fils  home  on  the  Tiber,  to  the  farthest  East  on  one 
hand,  and  to  the  far  West,  among  the  then  barbarous 
tribes  of  Western  Europe,  on  the  other.  But  at  length 
the  time  came  when  retributive  justice  had  become  'a 
destiny.'  The  despised  Gaul  calls  out  to  the  contemned 
Goth,  and  Attila,  with  his  Huns,  answers  back  the 
battle-shout  to  both.  The  'blue-eyed  nations  of  the 
North,'  in  succession  of  united  strength,  pour  forth  their 
countless  hosts  of  warriors  upon  Rome  and  Rome's, 
always  advancing  god,  Terminus.  And  now  the  battle- 


446  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

axe  of  the  barbarians  strikes  down  the  conq  nering  eagle 
of  Rome.  Terminus  at  last  recedes ;  slowly  at  first, 
but  finally  he  is  driven  to  Rome,  and  from  Rome  to  By- 
zantium. Whoever  would  know  the  farther  fate  of  this 
Roman  deity,  so  lately  taken  under  the  patronage  of 
American  Democracy,  may  find  ample  gratification  of 
his  curiosity  in  the  luminous  pages  of  Gibbon's  Decline 
and  Fall.  Such  will  find  that  Rome  thought  as  you 
now  think,  that  it  was  her  destiny  to  conquer  provinces 
and  nations,  and,  no  doubt,  she  sometimes  said  as  you 
say, '  I  will  conquer  a  peace.'  And  where  now  is  she — 
the  mistress  of  the  world  ?  The  spider  weaves  his  web 
in  her  palaces;  the  owl  sings  his  watch-song  in  her 
lowers.  Teutonic  power  now  lords  it  over '  the  servile 
remnant,  the  miserable  memento  of  old  and  once  om- 
nipotent Rome.  Sad,  very  sad,  are  the  lessons  which 
time  has  written  for  us.  Through  and  in  them  all,  I 
see  nothing  but  the  inflexible  execution  of  that  old  law, 
which  ordains  as  eternal  the  cardinal  rule,  '  Thou  shalt 
not  covet  thy  neighbor's  goods,  nor  anything  which  is 
his.'  Since  I  have  lately  heard  so  much  about  the  dis- 
memberment of  Mexico,  I  have  looked  back  to  see  how, 
in  the  course  of  events,  which  some  call  '  Providence,' 
it  has  fared  with  other  nations,  who  engaged  in  this 
work  of  dismemberment.  I  see  that  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  three  powerful  nations,  Rus- 
sia, Austria,  and  Prussia,  united  in  the  dismemberment 
of  Poland.  They  said,  too,  as  you  say,  'It  is  our  des- 
tiny.' They  '  wanted  room.'  Doubtless  each  of  these 
thought,  with  his  share  of  Poland,  his  power  was  too 
strong  ever  to  fear  invasion  or  even  insuU.  One  had 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  447 

his  California;  another  his  New  Mexico;  and  a  third 
his  Vera  Cruz.  Did  they  remain  untouched  and  incap- 
able of  harm  ?  Alas!  no;  far,  very  far  from  it.  Ret- 
ributive justice  must  fulfil  its  destiny,  too.  A  very  few 
years  pass  off,  and  we  hear  of  a  new  man,  a  Corsican 
Lieutenant,  the  self-named  '  armed  soldier  of  Democra- 
cy,' Napoleon.  He  ravages  Austria,  covers  her  land 
with  blood,  drives  the  Northern  Caesar  from  his  capital, 
and  sleeps  in  his  palace.  Austria  may  now  remember 
how  her  power  trampled  upon  Poland.  Did  she  not  pay 
dear,  very  dear,  for  her  California  ? 

"  But  has  Prussia  no  atonement  to  make  ?  You  see 
this  same  Napoleon,  the  blind  instrument  of  Providence, 
at  work  there.  The  thunders  of  his  cannon  at  Jena 
proclaim  the  work  of  retribution  for  Poland's  wrongs  ; 
and  the  successors  of  the  Great  Frederick,  the  drill- 
sergeant  of  Europe,  are  seen  flying  across  the  sandy 
plains  that  surround  their  capital,  right  glad  if  they 
may  escape  captivity  and  death.  But  how  fares  it 
with  the  Autocrat  of  Russia  ?  Is  he  secure  in  his  share 
of  the  spoils  of  Poland?  No;  suddenly  we  see,  Sir, 
six  hundred  thousand  armed  men  marching  to  Moscow. 
Does  his  Vera  Cruz  protect  him  now?  Far  from  it. 
Blood,  slaughter,  desolation,  spread  abroad  over  the 
land,  and  finally,  the  conflagration  of  the  old  commer- 
cial metropolis  of  Russia  closes  the  retribution  she 
must  pay  for  her  share  in  the  dismemberment  of  her 
weak  and  impotent  neighbor.  Mr.  President,  a  mind 
more  prone  to  look  for  the  judgments  of  Heaven  in  the 
doings  of  men  than  mine,  cannot  fail  in  this  to  see  the 
°rovidence  of  God.  When  Moscow  burned,  it  seemed 


448  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

as  if  the  earth  was  lighted  up,  that  the  nations  might 
behold  the  scene.  As  that  mighty  sea  of  fire  gathered 
and  heaved  and  rolled  upward,  and  yet  higher,  till  its 
flames  licked  the  stars,  and  fired  the  whole  heavens,  it 
did  seem  as  though  the  God  of  the  Nations  was  writing 
in  characters  of  flame  on  the  front  of  his  throne,  that 
doom  that  shall  fall  upon  the  strong  nation  which  tram- 
ples in  scorn  upon  the  weak.  And  what  fortune  awaits 
him,  the  appointed  executor  of  this  work,  when  it  was 
all  done?  .  He,  too,  conceived  the  idea  that  his  destiny 
pointed  onward  to  universal  dominion.  France  was 
too  small — Europe,  he  thought,  should  bow  down  before 
him.  But  as  soon  as  this  idea  took  possession  of  his 
soul,  he,  too,  became  powerless.  His  Terminus  must 
recede,  too.  Right  there,  while  he  witnessed  the  humil- 
iation, and,  doubtless,  meditated  the  subjugation  of  Rus- 
sia, He  who  holds  the  winds  in  His  fist,  gathered  the 
snows  of  the  North,  and  blew  them  upon  his  six  thou- 
sand men  ;  they  died — they  froze — they  perished.  And 
now  the  mighty  Napoleon,  who  had  resolved  on  uni- 
versal dominion,  he,  too,  is  summoned  to  answer  for  the 
violation  of  that  ancient  law,  '  Thou  shalt  not  covet 
anything  which  is  thy  neighbor's.'  How  are  the  mighty 
fallen !  He,  beneath  whose  proud  footsteps  Europe 
trembled,  he  is  now  an  exile  at  Elba,  and  now  finally  a 
prisoner  on  the  rock  of  St.  Helena — and  there  on  a 
barren  island,  in  an  unfrequented  sea,  in  the  crater  of 
an  extinguished  volcano,  there  is  the  death-bed  of  the 
mighty  conqueror.  All  his  annexations  have  come  to 
that !  His  last  hour  is  now  come  ;  and  he,  the  man  of 
destiny,  he  who  had  rocked  the  world  as  with  the  throes 


THOMAS    CDRVVIN.  449 

of  an  earthquake,  is  now  powerless — still — even  as  the 
beggar,  so  he  died.  On  the  wings  of  a  tempest  that 
raged  with  unwonted  fury,  up  to  the  throne  of  the 
only  Power  that  controlled  him  while  he  lived,  went  the 
fiery  soul  of  that  wonderful  warrior,  another  witness  to 
that  eternal  decree,  that  they  who  do  not  rule  in  right- 
eousness shall  perish  from  the  earth.  He  has  found 
'  room '  at  last.  And  France,  she,  too,  has  found  '  room.' 
Her  eagles  now  no  longer  scream  along  the  banks  oJ 
the  Danube,  the  Po,  and  the  Borysthenes.  They  have 
returned  home  to  their  old  eyrie,  between  the  Alps,  the 
Rhine,  and  the  Pyrenees.  So  shall  it  be  with  yours. 
You  may  carry  them  to  the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras— they  may  wave  in  insolent  triumph  in  the  Halls 
of  the  Montezumas — the  armed  men  of  Mexico  may 
quail  before  them  ;  but  the  weakest  hand  in  Mexico, 
uplifted  in  prayer  to  the  God  of  justice,  may  call  down 
against  you  a  power,  in  the  presence  of  which  the  iron 
hearts  of  your  warriors  shall  be  turned  into  ashes. 

"  Mr.  President,  if  the  history  of  our  race  has  estab- 
lished  any  truth,  it  is  but  a  confirmation  of  what  is 
written,  '  The  way  of  the  transgressors  is  hard.'  Inor- 
dinate ambition,  wantoning  in  power,  and  spurning  the 
humble  maxims  of  Justice  has — ever  has — and  ever 
shall  end  in  ruin.  Strength  cannot  always  trample 
upon  weakness — the  humble  shall  be  exalted — the  bowed 
down  will  at  length  be  lifted  up.  It  is  by  faith  in  the 
law  of  strict  justice,  and  the  practice  of  its  precepts, 
that  nations  alone  can  be  saved.  All  the  annals  of  the 
human  race,  sacred  and  profane,  are  written  over  with 
this  great  truth,  in  characters  of  living  light.  It  is  my 


450  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

fear,  my  fixed  belief,  that  in  this  invasion,  this  war  with 
Mexico,  we  have  forgotten  this  vital  truth.  Why  is  it 
that  we  have  been  drawn  into  this  whirlpool  of  war  ? 
How  clear  and  strong  was  the  light  that  shone  upon  the 
path  of  duty  a  year  ago!  The  last  disturbing  question 
with  England  was  settled — our  power  extended  its 
peaceful  sway  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ;  from 
the  Alleghanies  we  looked  out  upon  Europe,  and  from 
the  tops  of  the  Stony  Mountains  we  could  descry  the 
shores  of  Asia  ;  a  rich  commerce  with  all  the  nations  of 
Europe  poured  wealth  and  abundance  into  our  lap  on 
the  Atlantic  side,  while  an  unoccupied  commerce  of 
three  hundred  millions  of  Asiatics  waited  on  the  Pacific 
for  our  enterprise  to  come  and  possess  it.  One  hundred 
milions  of  dollars  will  be  wasted  in  this  fruitless  war. 
Had  this  money  of  the  people  been  expended  in  making 
a  railroad  from  our  Northern  Lakes  to  the  Pacific,  as 
one  of  your  citizens  has  begged  of  you  in  vain,  you 
would  have  made  a  highway  for  the  world  between 
Asia  and  Europe.  Your  capital  then  would  be  within 
thirty  or  forty  days'  travel  of  any  and  every  point  on 
the  map  of  the  civilized  world.  Through  this  great 
artery  of  trade,  you  would  •  have  carried  through  the 
heart  of  your  own  country  the  teas  of  China,  and  the 
spices  of  India,  to  the  markets  of  England  and  France. 
Why,  why,  Mr.  President,  did  we  abandon  the  enter- 
prises of  peace,  and  betake  ourselves  to  the  barbarous 
achievements  of  war  ?  Why  did  we  forsake  this  fair 
and  fertile  field  to  batten  on  that  moor  ? 

"  But,  Mr.  President,  if  further  acquisition  of  terri- 
tory is  to  be  the  result  either  oi  conquest  or  treaty,  then 


THOMAS    COR  WIN.  451 

I  scarcely  know  which  is  to  be  preferred,  eternal  war 
with  Mexico,  or  the  hazards  of  internal  commotion 
at  home,  which  last,  I  fear,  may  come,  if  another  pro- 
vince is  to  be  added  to  our  territory.  *  *  *  We 
stand  this  day  on  the  crumbling  brink  of  that  gulf— we 
see  its  bloody  eddies  wheeling  and  boiling  before  us — 
shall  we  not  pause  before  it  be  too  late?  How  plain 
again  is  here  the  path,  I  may  add  the  only  way  of  duty, 
of  prudence,  of  true  patriotism !  Let  us  abandon  all 
idea  of  acquiring  farther  territory,  and,  by  consequence, 
cease  at  once  to  prosecute  this  war.  Let  us  call  home 
our  armies,  and  bring  them  at  once  within  our  own 
acknowledged  limits.  Show  Mexico  that  you  are  sin- 
cere when  you  say  that  you  desire  nothing  by  con- 
quest. She  has  learned  that  she  cannot  encounter  you 
in  war ;  and  if  she  had  not,  she  is  too  weak  to  disturb 
you  here.  Tender  her  peace,  and,  my  life  upon  it,  she 
will  then  accept  it.  But  whether  she  shall  or  not,  you 
will  have  peace  without  her  consent.  It  was  your 
invasion  that  made  war,  your  retreat  will  restore  peace. 
Let  us,  then,  close  forever  the  approaches  to  internal 
feud,  and  so  return  to  the  ancient  concord  and  the  old 
ways  of  national  prosperity  and  permanent  glory.  Let 
us  here,  in  this  temple  consecrated  to  the  Union,  per- 
form a  solemn  lustration  ;  let  us  wash  Mexican  blood 
from  our  hands,  and  on  these  altars,  in  the  presence  of 
that  image  of  the  Father  of  his  Country  that  looks  down 
upon  us,  swear  to  preserve  honorable  peace  with  all  the 
world,  and  eternal  brotherhood  with  each  other." 

We  have  presented  a  biogi  aphical  sketch  of  Thomas 
Corwin,  and  attempted  to  anaiyze  his  oratorical  charac- 


452  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

ter.  It  remains,  briefly  to  describe  his  person,  and  this 
\ve  will  do  by  glancing  first  at  his  physical  form,  and 
then  at  his  moral  constitution. 

It  is  of  great  advantage  for  a  public  speaker  to  be  en- 
dowed with  what  is  called  presence — a  commanding 
form  and  conciliating  demeanor ;  and  this  Mr.  Corwin 
possesses  to  an  eminent  degree.  "  The  eye  is  made  the 
fool  of  the  other  senses,  or  else  worth  all  the  rest."  An 
audience  loves  to  repose  its  gaze  upon  him  who  ad- 
dresses them,  reading  dignity  in  his  aspect  as  well  as 
catching  inspiration  from  his  lips.  Unfortunately  many 
a  fine  intellect  is  shrouded  in  an  uncouth  body,  looking 
"as  if  some  of  nature's  journeymen  had  made  them 
and  not  made  them  well."  But  not  so  with  our  orator. 
The  graceful  magnitude  of  his  outer  man  comports 
with  the  compact  and  yet  flexile  firmness  of  the  soul 
within.  He  is  above  medium  height,  of  muscular  make, 
agile  limbs,  and  erect  attitude.  His  features  are  full, 
ingenuous  in  their  habitual  expression,  and — not  abso- 
lutely black.  His  brows  are  broad,  open,  and  massy, 
the  fit  throne  of  mighty  thought.  Like  his  hair,  his 
eyes  are  dark,  clear,  and  piercing ;  generally  mild  in 
their  look,  but  sometimes  filled  with  a  deadly  irony, 
which  it  is  impossible  to  describe.  In  some  burlesque 
lines  on-  the  treatment  of  Regulus  by  the  Carthagenians, 
the  rhymester  comes  nearest  to  an  exact  description  of 
Mr.  Corwin's  look  when  it  is  assumed : 

»'  His  eyelids  they  pared ; 
• — : how  he  stared  !" 

In  common   conversation,  and  ip  ordinary  debate, 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  453 

Mr.  Corvvin  wears  an  aspect  cheerful  and  attractive  to 
the  last  degree  ;  but  when  dealing  in  fiery  argument  or 
stinging  sarcasm,  the  language  of  his  features  exactly 
corresponds  with  his  avowed  sentiments  and  adds  a 
fearful  significancy  to  their  force.  A  flash  of  exulta- 
tion often  plays  over  his  countenance  when  he  observes 
how  the  winged  shaft  has  taken  effect,  and  with  what 
tenacity  it  sticks  to  his  writhing  victim.  The  quiver  or 
curl  of  his  lip,  the  dropping  of  his  chin,  the  fantastic 
rolling  of  his  eyes,  and  the  mock  pathos  of  his  tones 
as  he  utters  some  mortal  sneer,  is  comical  beyond  con- 
ception except  to  those  who  have  seen  him  speak.  It  is 
really  astonishing  with  what  distinctness  he  can  say  a 
given  sentiment  and  look  directly  the  opposite,  and 
the  side  glance  of  his  twinkling  eye — the  unmistakable 
interpretation  given  by  his  facial  muscles  will  contra- 
dict with  overpowering  drollery  and  emphatic  eloquence 
the  words  that  instant  on  his  lips.  In  all  such  instances 
the  effect  is  designed,  and  is  a  trait  of  power  in  this 
orator  which  no  living  master  can  approach.  It  is  easy 
to  perceive  the  triumph  of  sagacious  humor  in  his  look, 
even  before  he  speaks  :  feats  of  exquisite  sportiveness, 
in  which  pleasantry  and  utility  are  felicitously  combined, 
and  executed  by  the  most  perfect  master  of  forensic 
mirth,  creating  roars  of  merriment  in  which  all  gravity 
is  overwhelmed  and  the  most  demure  risibtes  convulsed. 
He  will  enunciate  ridicule  in  a  dry  laugh,  multiply  it  in 
a  thousand  extemporized  wrinkles  all  over  his  sombre 
visage,  suggest  it  in  every  form  and  direction  through 
sardonic  chuckles  and  twinkling  looks,  darting  from  his 
speaking  face  more  fatal  jests  than  are  clothed  m  words,. 


454  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

and  yet  embodying  downright  sarcasm  in  the  plainest 
language  enough  to  scarify  any  common  skin.  And 
yet,  what  is  still  more  strange,  there  is  no  appearance 
of  malice  in  all  this.  Mr.  Corwin  seeks  no  noisy  ap- 
plause by  his  occasional  bitterness,  and  the  plaudits 
which  continually  attend  the  popular  appreciation  of 
his  grotesque  wit,  as  well  as  sterling  argument,  appear 
to  afford  him  gratification  only  so  far  as  comprehensive, 
beneficent,  and  enduring  results  are  achieved.  He 
seldom  exasperates,  though  he  always  keenly  excites  ; 
there  is  so  much  courtesy  mingled  in  all  his  severity, 
that  the  subject  of  his  lash  is  obliged  to  laugh  while  he 
smarts.  His  pangs  are  mitigated,  however,  by  the  re- 
flection that  they  are  inflicted  by  superior  talent  as 
magnanimous  as  it  is  keen,  and  not  by  harsh  and  un- 
couth imbecility.  This  is  a  grand  consolation,  since  it 
is  much  more  dignified  and  tolerable  to  endure  the  paw 
of  a  lion  than  the  hoof  of  an  ass. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  from  the  above  remarks,  that 
Mr.  Corwin's  greatest  forte  lies  in  the  use  of  small  arms 
in  forensic  warfare.  He  is  never  so  great  as  when  he 
addresses  himself  to  analytical  reasoning  and  severe 
deduction.  It  is  true  he  can  play  at  will  his  virgin  fan- 
cies wild ;  he  has  mastered  the  great  secret  of  nature, 
having  learned  her  manner,  and  with  rapture  tasted  her 
style;  his  bold  imagination  can  skillfully  touch  the  very 
limits  which  it  dares  not  pass,  careering  with  supreme 
dominion  over  all  kingdoms  of  emotion  and  thought ; 
yet  is  he  the  most  powerful  and  self-possessed  when  in 
the  forum  of  rigid  debate,  dealing  logic  on  fire  all  around. 
One  of  the  first  lawyers  in  Ohio  has  frequently  assured 


THOMAS    CORWIV.  455 

the  writer  that  Mr.  Corwin  excels  all  his  acquaintances 
in  the  knowledge  of  mental  philosophy  and  the  science 
of  legitimate  argument.  With  Promethean  power  he 
can  give  life  to  the  cumbrous  mass  of  precedents  accu- 
mulated by  plodders,  throw  an  intellectual  splendor  over 
images  opaque  to  ordinary  minds,  and  at  the  same  time 
lay  bare  the  soul  of  passion,  as  well  as  rivet  conviction 
on  the  most  stubborn  understanding.  His  wit  is  that 
of  a  manly,  independent  spirit ;  his  cheerfulness  that  of  a 
generous;  feeling  heart.  His  natural  vitality  of  soul, 
Diogenes  turn  of  dialectics,  and  inexhaustible  humor, 
sustain  his  energy  in  all  toils  and  render  him  fearful  to 
all  foes.  He  is  a  man  "replete  with  mocks,  full  of  com- 
parisons and  wounding  flouts ;"  but  the  chief  reason 
why  -his  protection  is  courted  by  the  weak  and  dreaded 
by  the  mighty  is,  that  behind  lighter  skirmishing,  he 
plies  mental  artillery  of  the  largest  calibre  and  most 
destructive  force.  Alternate  action  and  repose,  playful 
squibbing  and  irresistible  broadsides,  afford  their  adroit 
possessor  a  versatility  of  power  which  few  can  either 
anticipate  or  resist.  And  yet  nothing  is  more  foreign 
from  artificialness.  His  speech  takes  a  natural  growth, 
and  his  oratorical  triumph  is  perfected  much  as  Milton 
described  : 

"So  from  the  ground 

Springs  lighter  the  green  stalk,  from  thence  the  leaves 
More  airy,  last  the  bright  consummate  flower.  " 

Having  already  passed  in  our  description  from  the 
physical  attributes  of  Mr.  Corwin,  to  his  intellectual  and 
moral  character,  we  will  dwell  yet  a  little  longer  on  this 


456  LIVING    ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

last  point.  In  his  mental  productions  we  see  traits  that 
correspond  to  the  appearances  of  material  elements  and 
natural  scenes,  striking  contrasts  in  form,  color,  light,  and 
shadow ;  sunbeams  bursting  through  a  small  opening  in  a 
dark  wood,  a  rainbow  against  a  stormy  sky,  meadows 
fragrant  and  lovely  with  flowers  on  one  hand,  groves 
prostrated  by  tempests,  and  mountain  peaks  scathed  by 
lightnings  on  the  other.  His  style  is  insinuating  and 
pungent,  not  abrupt  or  petulant,  but  full  of  those  capti- 
vating transitions,  which,  while  they  surprise  into  more 
absorbing  curiosity,  seldom  repel  by  acrimonious  denun- 
ciation, but  keep  up  an  increasing  interest,  insensibly 
wind  round  the  heart,  and  lead  the  judgment  to  convic- 
tion and  repose.  Having  witnessed  the  effects  of  his 
address  on  a  popular  audience,  you  feel  that  his  task 
was  not  executed  by  mechanical  means,  that  he  not 
only  has  taste,  but  genius  and  invention,  and  that  his 
spirit,  like  Hotspur's,  had  "lent  a  fire  e'en  to  the  dullest 
peasant." 

That  orator  will  have  the  greatest  public  power  who 
lives  nearest  to  infinity  by  throwing  wide  open  all  the 
avenues  of  his  being  to  whatever  is  beautiful,  and  true, 
and  grand  around  him.  If  ethereal  tides  swell  and  circu- 
late through  every  artery  and  vein,  energizing  his  soul 
and  clarifying  his  vision,  his  thoughts  will  be  vivid  like 
the  fulminations  of  heaven,  and  his  expressions  will  re- 
verberate in  thunder  tones,  startling  and  distinct  to 
every  ear.  Of  this  stamp  is  Thomas  Corwin.  He  excels 
most  statesmen,  in  this  respect  among  many  others — he 
knows  when  to  speak  and  when  to  be  silent.  That  is  the 
wisest  of  men,  who  not  only  can  create  superior  works, 


THOMAS    CORYV1N.  <i^7 

but  can  perceive  when  his  task  is  done.  The  knowledge 
when  to  stop,  left  Scylla  nothing  to  fear,  though  disarm- 
ed ;  the  want  of  this  knowledge,  gave  Ceesar  to  the  dag- 
ger of  Brutus.  The  great  orator  of  Ohio  says  plainer 
things,  and  does  bolder  deeds,  than  any  other  senator ; 
yet  is  he  the  last  to  violate  any  rule  of  propriety,  offend 
any  one  of  true  dignity,  wink  at  any  private  injustice  or 
public  wrong.  Such  a  man  can  neither  be  praised  nor 
insulted;  he  is  above  the  fulsomeness  of  the  selfish  and 
the  malignity  of  the  mean. 

Says  the  excellent  judge  of  character,  from  whom  we 
quoted  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  "Mr.  Corwin's 
private  life,  from  boyhood  up,  has  been  marked  by  the 
strictest  virtue  and  the  most  stainless  honor.  His  pro- 
fessional career,  as  a  part  of  it,  has  been  distinguished 
for  benevolence  and  justice.  His  social  qualities  are  of 
the  highest  order,  and  impart  the  happiest  influence  upon 
all  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
them.  Few  men  excel  him  in  colloquial  power,  or  in 
the  range  of  intelligence  to  make  it  the  most  attractive. 
His  life  has  been  one  of  laborious  study,  and  his  mind 
is  highly  charged  with  useful  learning  and  well-digested 
principles.  He  has  read  much,  and  with  careful  dis- 
crimination—"-applying  the  most  careful  thought  of  his 
own  mind  in  the  speculations  of  others.  However,  his 
opinions  on  all  subjects  are  uniformly  his  own.  No 
man  is  more  unpretending  in  his  attainments,  or  more 
modest  in  exhibiting  them ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  no 
man  can  be  more  decided  in  resisting  the  prescriptions  of 
mere  authority.  His  mind,  in  its  philosophic  spirit,  is 
formed  mainly  on  the  principle  of  self-reliance ;  and  he 
2Q 


458  LIVING     ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

values  and  uses  learning  rather  as  a  means  to  help  him 
think  than  to  supply  him  with  thoughts.  It  is,  however, 
high  proof  in  favor  of  the  principles  of  any  party  or 
category  with  which  he  may  sympathize  and  act,  that 
they  have  been  thoroughly  thought  out  by  him  from  their 
simplest  elements,  and  finally  adopted  by  him  as  ascer- 
tained truths.  He  allows  no  mere  party  reasons  for  his 
convictions,  and  wants  no  party  aid  for  their  support. 

"  As  a  public  speaker,  Mr.  Corwin  is  gifted  far  above 
the  ordinary  standard  of  parliamentary  experience. 
His  manner  is  perfectly  self-possessed — his  thoughts 
flow  forth  in  the  most  lucid  forms  :  his  language  is  in 
the  purest  taste — always  strong,  though  frequently  in  a 
high  degree  erratic.  In  all  his  efforts,  whether  of  the 
more  elaborate  or  of  the  lighter  kind,  he  fixes  attention 
in  the  outset,  and  holds  it,  unbroken,  to  the  end.  It  is, 
evidently,  one  of  the  secrets  of  his  power,  that  he 
knows  when  he  has  exhausted  a  subject,  and  where  to 
stop.  He  is  so  clear  in  his  conceptions,  and  exact  in 
his  arrangement  of  them,  that  he  never  repeats  himself; 
and  hence  never  offends,  as  do  many  of  the  best  speak- 
ers, by  occasional  indications  of  a  want  of  thorough 
understanding  of  their  own  minds. 

"  In  the  mixed  walks  of  eloquence,  when  under  the 
excitement  of  a  great  subject,  and  a  grand  and  respon- 
sible occasion  for  the  discussion  of  it,  Mr.  Corwin  often 
exhibits  powers  which  could  hardly  be  excelled.  He 
has  moments  of  intense  strength,  in  which  he  seems  to 
rise,  unconsciously,  high  above  his  own  ordinary  level, 
and  to  wield  with  almost  superhuman  power  the  grand- 
est thoughts ;  setting  them  forth  in  the  sublimest  images, 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  459 

and  clothing  them  in  the  most  beautiful  forms  of  speech. 
On  occasions  that  properly  admit  of  the  application  of 
the  higher  powers  of  wit,  his  efforts  are  unrivalled. 
His  quick  perception  of  the  weak  points  of  an  adver- 
sary's position,  and,  if  open  to  ridicule,  his  ready  asso- 
ciation of  them  with  the  most  grotesque  forms  of  ex- 
posure, give  often,  even  to  his  grave  speeches,  a  force 
and  influence  which  the  severest  logic  would  utterly 
fail  to  give.  The  amiable  and  gentlemanly  temper, 
moreover,  with  which  he  exerts  these  high  and  even 
dangerous  powers,  saves  him  from  all  hazard  of  giving 
personal  offence  in  the  application  of  them,  and  it  is 
proverbially  said  of  him,  that  the  object  of  his  satire  is 
usually  among  the  most  entertained  of  those  who  listen 
to  it.  The  treat  is  too  rich  to  be  quarrelled  with,  even 
by  the  victim  whom  it  would  annihilate. 

"  But,  after  all,  the  most  striking  and  captivating  fea- 
ture in  his  speaking,  is,  that  he  allows  no  doubt  in  his 
auditory  of  the  entire  sincerity  of  what  he  is  saying, 
It  is  a  man  uttering  great  and  important  truths  under 
the  impulses  of  deep  conviction,  and  not  a  mere  de- 
claimer  or  advocate,  who  would  produce  effect  for  an 
occasion.  And  this  great  feature  of  Mr.  Corwin's 
speaking,  which  stands  out  so  prominently  in  every 
speech  he  makes,  no  matter  what  the  audience,  the 
place,  or  the  occasion,  is  the  necessary  result  of  that  self- 
culture,  which,  in  his  habitual  studies,  keeps  the  watches 
of  an  honest  and  conscientious  heart  in  constant  com- 
pany with  the  labors  of  a  clear,  serene,  and  self-poised 
mind. 

"  As   a   writer,   Mr.    Corwin's  pursuits  have   never 


460  LIVING    3RATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

required  of  him  to  make  any  especial  exhibitions — 
though  those  who  enjoy  the  privilege  of  his  correspond 
en'ce  know  that  his  occasional  discussions  in  the  exact 
forms  of  writing,  are  not  inferior  to  his  more  accus- 
tomed efforts  of  the  forensic  kind.  He  writes  as  he 
speaks  ;  in  a  style  of  the  purest  taste  and  most  direct 
expression,  with  all  the  earnestness  of  deep  conviction, 
and  the  consciousness  that  he  has  something  to  say. 

"  Mr.  Corwin  is  not  an  ambitious  man,  in  any  low  or 
vulgar  sense.  His  whole  life  has  proved  his  aspirations 
to  be  of  the  loftiest  and  purest  kind.  The  high  places 
he  has  so  long  occupied  in  public  affairs,  seem  to  come 
to  him  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  has  been  no  seeker 
after  them  ;  and  has  submitted  to  none  of  the  com- 
promises of  self-respect,  so  sadly  common  in  our  coun- 
try, to  obtain  them.  Deeply  studied  in  the  institutions 
of  his  country,  and  profoundly  animated  with  the  sen- 
timent of  patriotism  that  would  administer  and  maintain 
them  in  their  true  strength  and  purity,  he  has  occupied 
such  positions  in  relation  to  them  as  were  perfectly  na- 
tural, and  such  as  it  would  have  been  a  kind  of  moral  trea- 
son, in  a  man  of  his  gifts,  to  have  declined.  His  ambition 
is  to  be  eminently  useful ;  and  if  the  marks  of  public 
confidence  which  have  been  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon 
him,  are  to  be  regarded  as  proofs,  his  ambition  has  not 
been  without  success. 

"  We  have  thus  spoken  of  Mr.  Corwin,  and  in  no 
spirit  of  adulation,  nor  with  any  purpose  of  gaining  to 
him  any  artificial  or  fictitious  importance  before  the  na- 
tion. We  have  spoken,  because  that  such  a  man 
should  be  talked  and  written  about,  and  made  known  to 


THOMAS    CORWIN.  4gJ 

the  nation.  It  is  quite  obvious  that  his  position  as  a 
man,  and  as  an  American  statesman,  is  now  high.  It 
is  destined  to  be  higher — not,  perhaps,  in  outward  rank, 
but  in  that  depth  and  universality  of  public  esteem  and 

eKance,  which  are  the  fruit  of  many  and  arduous  trials, 
and  a  long  life  of  single-hearted  devotion  to  principle. 
Be  these  trials  ever  so  many  or  so  arduous,  they  will 
leave  unsullied  the  lofty  name,  unspotted  the  steadfast 
soul,  of  THOMAS  CORWIN." 

The  "  Queen  City"  will  long  remember  that  after- 
noon of  Monday,  Oct.  9th,  1848,  when  the  announce- 
ment that  "  Tom  Corwin"  was  to  speak  in  a  large  open 
space  in  one  of  the  suburbs,  had  an  effect  in  emptying 
the  busiest  quarters  very  like  the  approach  of  the  fasci- 
nating queen  of  Egypt : 

"  The  city  cast 

Her  people  out  upon  her;  and  Antony, 
Enthron'd  in  the  market-place,  did  sit  alone, 
Whistling  to  the  air ;  which,  but  for  vacancy, 
Had  gone  to  gaze  on  Cleopatra  too, 
And  made  a  gap  in  nature." 

The  vast  area  of  seats  arranged  for  the  audience  was 
filled  by  ladies  alone,  while  beyond,  in  every  direction 
further  than  the  most  powerful  voice  could  reach, 
crowds  were  compactly  standing  in  rapt  attention,  lis- 
tening from  carriages,  peering  through  windows,  bend- 
ing from  balconies  and  roofs,  or  clinging  to  trees  and 
flag-staffs,  while  banners  waved  above,  eyes  sparkled, 
and  irrepressible  cheers  resounded  all  around. 

Mr.  Corwin  spoke  for  a  long  time,  and  more  than 
once  was  on  the  point  of  closing  when  the  multitudes 


462  LIVING  ORATORS    IN    AMERICA. 

compelled  him  still  to  proceed.  The  scene  was  every 
way  exceedingly  impressive.  There  was  no  filmy 
cloud  to  break  the  softness  of  the  west,  where  the  sun 
sank  like  a  globe  of  molten  gold,  radiating  to  the 
zenith,  flashing  from  cloud  to  cloud,  and  blending  in 
one  massy  sheet  over  the  vast  and  glowing  concave 
The  beautiful  coronet  of  hills  which  encompass  Cincin 
nati,  gloriously  tinted  with  autumnal  foliage,  were  then 
doubly  resplendent  in  the  evening  glow,  while  numer- 
ous villas  studding  their  sides  and  summits,  smitten  by 
the  setting  sun,  were  illuminated  by  harmless  conflagra- 
tions. Every  moment  grew  more  pensive  and  solemn 
in  the  amber  hues  of  declining  day ;  and  the  orator,  as 
if  inspired  by  the  hour,  rose  to  a  most  exalted  strain  of 
the  moral  sublime  in  picturing  the  evils  which  many 
feared  and  which  he  came  there  to  deprecate.  At  that 
moment  we  gazed  intently  upon  his  noble  form  raised 
by  popular  enthusiasm  upon  a  rustic  pyramid  in  full 
view  of  enraptured  throngs.  He  bore  the  aspect  of  a, 
prophet,  condensing  the  utmost  measure  of  solicitude 
and  meaning  in  language  prompted  by  the  approach  of 
a  fearful  crisis.  The  last  gleam  of  day  played  on  his 
brow  ;  his  lips  quivered  and  burned  with  their  last  elo- 
quent appeal ;  he  bowed  his  silent  homage  to  the  ex- 
cited thousands  ;  and  repeated  shouts,  half  drpw^jjig  tlie 
salvos  of  cannon,  shook  the  heavens.  £  • 


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